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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25956202">Halbarry Week 2020</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceeloilights/pseuds/ceeloilights'>ceeloilights</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Green Lantern - All Media Types, The Flash - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Fave Moment, First Times, Future, Halbarry Week 2020, M/M, Soulmates, Villains</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:20:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>37,174</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25956202</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceeloilights/pseuds/ceeloilights</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Hal's death was announced, Barry finds himself finally embracing his emotions on a cliff as the night sky around him sparkles with stars and unexpectancies.</p><p>D1) Fave Moment<br/>D2) Alternate Universe<br/>D3) First Times<br/>D4) Villains<br/>D5) Future<br/>D6) Soulmates<br/>D7) Freebie</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barry Allen/Hal Jordan, Dick Grayson/Wally West</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Halbarry Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Beginning At The End</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It's Halbarry week!!<br/>Honestly, it hasn't even felt like a year has gone by. But, here we are!<br/>This story is going to progress with chapters, it isn't just a collection of one-shots, so buckle up, all of this will be wrapped up in only seven chapters.<br/>Because this week's quotes were already between the two, I couldn't really include the quotes without taking in a massive amount of content, and this fic is going to be continuous throughout the chapters so I'd be restraining myself too much for me to even really make a story that...made sense? So, sticking to the prompt and taking inspiration from the quotes as I'm meant to, I present Halbarry week 2020, my take.<br/>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>D1) Fave Moment</p><p>Death doesn't always mean a closed book.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Perhaps it was too much to ask for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry hugged himself tighter, his own hands sliding down his suit as he breathed out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry let Wally scout Central tonight, leaving work early once he got John’s message. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His first instinct was to ask John to send some Green Lanterns to find Hal. Then he realized they might not be able to make it. After, he raced to Batman, asking if he could connect to Hal’s ring, wondering if it’d still get through, questioning if his ring had left him yet for someone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to react when Bruce told him he couldn’t get a connection; What </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>he supposed to do? Hal was lightyears away, and it wasn’t like he could fly to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“H-al…” Barry choked, his knees hit the gravel under his feet, “Please be okay…” he whispered, trying to swallow down the thought of the Lantern being dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heaving a sigh, Barry wiped at his tears before looking around at where he was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know. He just followed the moon once he told Wally what to do. But now, he was lost.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seemed like a cliff, a cliff with a loose gravel track leading to the peak, where if he peered carefully off the edge, he could see just make out the splashing of waves on sharp, rough rocks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though he knew the question of where he was should’ve been his first concern, he couldn’t keep his mind from imagining Hal, somewhere out there, under massive ruins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry sniffed, tears pricking his eyes as his adrenaline started wearing off, his legs spreading so his bottom could hit the ground to sit comfortably. He looked up to the night sky, the stars glittered in his glossy eyes, as he smiled sadly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal…” he sniffed, “Hal, remember that time you, you told me to...that I could--you told me that I could…” Barry wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist, his sniffing starting to increase, “Oh…no… Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Keep it together...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry swallowed a lump forming in his throat, looking down at the gravel as it made scraping sounds underneath his body when he tried shifting into a more comfortable sitting position. “Remember when you--you, you created that bar for me, just--so you could listen to me...talk about Iris?” Barry inhaled deeply, his lip trembling while his hands clutched at his arms, his breath stuttering as he tried taking ragged deep breaths to calm himself down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You...you told me, when we parted, that I could...should--could look to the stars if...if I ever needed you…” Barry turned back up to stare at the sky, his eyes wandering the infinite abyss as if Hal was going to descend from the sky and hold him, lending his shoulder for the speedster to cry on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Is it too much for Hal to be in his arms? Solid, smiling, and safe?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal…” Barry sobbed, “Hal, I need you right now...” he squeezed his eyes to drain out his tears before opening them back up, coiling his body in on itself, “please…” he softly added. Bringing his knees to his face, Barry wiped away the tear streaks on his face before resting his head against his knees as he wrapped his arms around his legs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, please, please...be okay…” Barry begged under his breath, “Please, come back to me…” the bridge of his nose pressed between his legs, Barry cried silently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moments they shared danced around Barry’s head, the soft smile Hal would only give to him, the ‘welcome home’s Barry would tell to him before an inevitable hug. Barry wished – he hoped those moments would happen again, hoped maybe he could tell Hal how he felt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lifting his face from his knees, he drowsily blinked down at his suit-covered knees. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope you knew how much I loved you, Hal…” Barry murmured to himself, and that was the truth. He sincerely hoped Hal knew how much the speedster loved him before he died. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as Barry wanted to think Hal thought of him when his last breath was drawn, he knew there are so many other people Hal loved. He knew how many other people were significant in Hal’s life. Barry acknowledged it was a small chance that he’d still think about him. But, Barry hoped Hal knew – even if no one else were by his side – Barry would always be there, and cherish him, help him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Placing his cheek against one of his knees, Barry gazed up at the sky, a part of him not wanting to believe Hal was dead. Something about it doesn’t seem possible. The fact that Hal wasn’t going to come back to him, that he would never plant his feet on Earth again, that the planes in the sky weren’t flying because of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Training his eyes on a particular blue star, he realized it was getting bigger. Was it...exploding? No...that wouldn’t make any sense…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Barry Allen of Earth.” the star spoke. Two voices coming from it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The speedster’s mouth fell agape, but only for a moment, only until a pink light just as striking shone behind Barry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>You have tghreeaatbilloivtey itno yionusrtihlelagrrteat hope.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?" Barry croaked, his eyes flooding with tears again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Welcome to the SBtlaure SLaapnptheirrnesCorps."</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Love and Hope</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>D2) Alternate Universe</p><p>Two rings and a mission.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Barry-!”</p><p>Slowly cracking his eyes open, Barry saw John in front of him. Barry wasn’t sure where he was, nor did he know what he or John was doing. </p><p>“What--” </p><p>“Barry? Are you alright?” </p><p>Once the words were heard, Barry could feel his head start to throb, letting loud a defeated moan and closing his eyes once more.</p><p>“I don’t–I think…” squeezing his eyes, he tried recalling anything past his blistering headache, “I just...gimme a second…” </p><p>A sharp quake shook the two, making Barry’s headache soar and getting him to clutch his head in his hands.</p><p>“We don’t have a second,” John said, pulling Barry close before the speedster could realize what was happening. The feeling of getting launched into the air made him nauseous, swallowing back a groan that would’ve caused him to hurl.</p><p>“John.” Barry curtly grunted.</p><p>When he didn’t get a response and started feeling his stomach acid threatening to rush up, Barry tried to hit the Green Lantern, “John, seriously.”</p><p>“Cover your head!” the Lantern warned before everything went green. The speedster prayed to whatever God that was out there that things would get better, or maybe just to let him throw-up to put him out of his misery.</p><p>Nonetheless, Barry followed orders, ducking under John’s chin as he struggled to swallow down the bile that made it up to his throat.</p><p>A loud explosion could be heard a few seconds before they were launched forward. The sudden thrust being the last straw, the speedster quickly spinning to turn away from John before the contents of his stomach spewed from his mouth. </p><p>Like everything else in his life, the moment felt torturously long. Time seemed to slow down just enough for Barry to feel his throat getting burned, but not enough to stop himself from throwing up.</p><p>Before long, Barry emptied his stomach and felt ten times lighter, and ten times more weak. Exhaustion soon fell upon him, his muscles going limp along with his brain turning to jelly.</p><p>Just when he was fading into unconsciousness, John landed the bubble and attempted to place Barry on his feet.</p><p>Attempted being the keyword.</p><p>Stumbling out from the green bubble John surrounded them with, Barry groaned in agony before dropping to the ground, his knees hitting the floor first, and his body would’ve followed if John hadn’t caught him and pushed him up by his shoulders, into a sitting position.</p><p>“Sssorry,” Barry rasped, his throat raw from the acid.</p><p>“It’s fine,” John said, dismissing the bubble, leaving the barf to drop into a green bucket. His mouth twisted into a frown before he floated it over to the speedster as a napkin appeared before Barry, his other hand on Barry’s shoulder, steadying the speedster.</p><p>“Clean off; you need to keep it together.” </p><p>Taking the napkin, Barry wiped down his mouth from whatever was in his stomach, and saliva, before he noticed his nose was dripping and tears were welled in his eyes. Once he was done, John waved his hand to disappear the objects along with the vomit.</p><p>Barry would’ve questioned it if he had the mental strength, but after whatever just happened, he didn’t even think he could make a coherent sentence. </p><p>Sighing through his nose, Barry slowly let his eyes drift closed until John firmly shook him back to reality. “Barry, stay with me.” John sternly said, “You have to tell me what happened back there.”</p><p>Barry hemmed, his mouth pressing in a thin line as he tried remembering what happened before all of...this. Whatever <em> this </em>was.</p><p>“I don’t...I don’t know…” he answered, his voice coming out more tired than he anticipated.</p><p>John held his poker face, but the hand on Barry’s shoulder tightened a bit, and Barry half expected the Lantern to ask Barry the question again. Instead, he let go of a breath, and his eyes drifted over the speedster’s shoulder. John stood up, extending out a hand for Barry to take. </p><p>“What…” Barry paused, taking John’s hand to drag himself to his feet, “What did happen?”</p><p>“You invaded a planet.” John bleakly informed, his eyes carrying a pitifulness in them. “I expect because you don’t remember what happened, that this,” his hand came to hold up Barry’s right wrist, on his middle finger, snuggled just above one of his knuckles, was a Star Sapphire ring glowing dimly, “was the reason for your rampage.”</p><p>Barry stiffened, “Rampage…?,” a sudden heaviness weighing in his gut, “Did...anyone get hurt?”</p><p>“I’m hoping not…” John sighed.</p><p>The speedster’s shoulders slumped, thoughts of cities in ruins and loved ones lost forever flashed through his head.</p><p>“I didn’t mean– I’m really s–” Barry bit his lip; he wasn’t sure what to say. Anything he could say wouldn’t help their current situation.</p><p>“It wasn’t your fault.” John stated, “But, <em> they </em>do think it’s your fault.”</p><p>“They?” </p><p>“Everyone you attacked.”</p><p>Barry swallowed thickly, he squirmed at the idea of him killing one person, but multiple? He couldn’t even imagine what was going through all the creatures’ minds when he did ambush them.</p><p>Why would he even...do...that?</p><p>“They most likely won’t act friendly if you were to return, but I still need to inspect the damage.” </p><p>“So, should I leave?” Barry asked, “This planet, that is.” he continued awkwardly.</p><p>“I think you should.” John agreed, “But,” he added, “I think you should go straight to your house and stay there.” his form began to glow as he started to float, “Then when I get back we’ll see what to do about your two rings.”</p><p>“Right, okay.”</p><p>After a quick affirmative nod from the speedster, the Lantern took off.</p><p>When the green shine of John’s willpower disappeared in the distance, Barry let go of a breath. Running a hand through his hair, he rubbed his face with both his hands, tired from...whatever is happening.</p><p>What did happen? How did he get here? Where is here? All he knew was that he demolished some stuff on an alien planet, and he has two–</p><p>Whipping his head to stare down at his hands, he realized what John meant when he said, “two rings.” </p><p>On his right hand held a pink Star Sapphire ring, and on his left hand, a Blue Lantern ring mirrored the pink ring in its placement.</p><p>
  <em> How? What? When?  </em>
</p><p>He didn’t even know one single person could obtain two rings at the same time, most definitely not himself. Then the immediate memory of him being on a hill, sobbing over the news of Hal’s death, spotted a budding star. But, it wasn’t a star, it spoke to him, or at least he thought it talked to him. Its words were jumbled but there was some English under all the garble.</p><p>No, it wasn’t garble, it was two rings talking to him at once.</p><p>Groaning, Barry just wanted to collapse. Pressing his fingers to his temples, he took a couple of deep breaths before dropping his hands and looked up into the sky. </p><p>It was dark and clear. No sight of light pollution, unlike back home in Central City. The silence began to slowly trickle into him, the clear air being a bit too calming for the speedster’s comfort.</p><p>Letting go of a breath, he began trying to figure out how to get his rings to let him fly.</p><p>Adjusting the weapons on his fingers for no reason other than nervousness, Barry tried to jump to get some air off the ground but rather than only his feet hitting onto the ground. His ankles gave way, causing him to flail his arms around for a few seconds before he crashed to the floor.</p><p>Grunting, Barry sat up, his eyes widening when he realized what he was wearing.</p><p>The left side of his body was his Blue Lantern uniform, but the Blue Lantern uniform split in the middle of his body to display the Star Sapphire uniform, on the right side of his body.</p><p>With his fingers splayed out in front of his face, Barry examined carefully at the almost-latex feel of the glove stretched over his hands, up his arms, ending halfway up his bicep. The glove led his eyes to his no sleeved chest plate–if it could even be called such a thing. His neck was covered, but his shoulder and the front bottom-half of his torso would be lucky to have scratches on them, let alone protect Barry in a fight. The chest plate was split halfway down his body, revealing one side of his abs, and came uncomfortably close to the V of his hips before they were covered and the armor ended the way a leotard would end. </p><p>A heavy flush set against the pale skin of the speedster as he studied himself some more, the loose recollection of how Star Sapphire outfits were built to attract the one who most loves you or something of that sort.</p><p>Going beyond his hips, his thigh was exposed much like his shoulder, up till a knee-high boot laced itself over his calve, down to the point of his toes. Low and behold, Barry found the guilty suspect as to how he went collapsing when he tried jumping. The heels on the boot made him walk around like some Barbie doll, and the scientist was convinced that it could go through someone’s body with a hard enough kick. Funnily enough, though, he wasn’t uneven when he walked.</p><p>With an awkward gulp, Barry briefly wondered who liked to see him in nothing but lingerie, just as he shook his head from invading thoughts, remembering what his current objective was.</p><p>“Uh… “ twiddling with the rings again, Barry swiveled around to see if anyone was around, then looked back to his rings, before loudly exclaiming, “Fly!”</p><p>When it didn’t work, an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. An even more awful feeling fixed itself in Barry’s gut. </p><p>He didn’t know where Earth was. He didn’t remember the route back to Earth.</p><p>“...fuck.” Barry whispered, glancing back in the direction where John took off. Maybe he could run until he could spot John. Focusing again on his rings, he wondered if it was safe. Even if he did have super speed, maybe the aliens also had super speed. He shouldn’t make John worry about him either, and it would just be placing another hassle on the Lantern. </p><p>Covering his face with his hands, the sound of a deeply defeated sigh drew from his lips which vaguely sounded like a sob. He fucked up this time, hasn’t he?</p><p><em> C’mon… C’mon… </em>Barry kept thinking as he rubbed his hands over his face. </p><p>Taking a deep breath, he tried to believe he could fly. Truly, he tried believing he could fly. He pretended he was Superman and swooped in to save a child from a burning building, or Hal, taking off slowly as he gave one last wave before he soared into the night sky. </p><p>Slowly, very slowly, the speedster felt himself become lighter as his form gleamed blue and pink. Hesitantly, he lifted a leg to find no pressure being put on his other limb.</p><p>Holy shit. Holy shit, he’s flying… </p><p>The more he thought about it, the more he started panicking. He didn’t like having his feet firmly on the dirt or at least having someone’s assisting arm around him to ground himself to. New superpowers are always hard to adjust to. Trying to calm himself down, he lifted his other leg, and once he found himself floating with no problem.</p><p>“Alert–” one of his rings chimed, “Green Lantern ring nearby.”</p><p>“Green Lantern--Green lantern ring?” Barry lifted his head to see if he could get a glimpse of a Green Lantern ring, or maybe even just the light of it. A small sense of hope planted itself in Barry’s head to believe it was Hal who still had his ring on and was approaching the speedster.</p><p>Looking into the night sky, Barry thought he could make out a small, green object floating around but knew instantly, it was the Green Lantern ring when it started descending closer and closer, and...closer?</p><p>Oh, God, it was coming for him. No, no, no, two rings were enough for him, thanks.</p><p>Without fully thinking, Barry blasted from his spot, and into the sky, hoping he could lose the ring. </p><p>“Ring,” Barry commanded, not entirely knowing which ring he was talking to, “directions to Earth.”</p><p>“GAeltetritn:gdGirreenctLiaonnntsertno:apEraoratchhing,” the rings talked at once.</p><p>“Wha–Excuse me?” </p><p>“Connecting…” one of his rings voiced.</p><p>“Connecting? Connecting to what? What are you connecting to? Just--”</p><p>“Head straight into Sector 5893.”</p><p>“Thank you…” Barry exasperatedly sighed.</p><p>“Halt for connection.” the Blue Lantern ring light pulsed on Barry’s finger as he watched with confusion.</p><p>“What are you connecting to exactly?”</p><p>“Connection complete. Connection to Green Lantern ring.” </p><p>“Why are you connecting to a random Green Lantern ring?” he demanded.</p><p>“‘Hal Jordan’ is in trouble and could be risking his life as well as the universe.”</p><p>“Hal?” the speedster murmured, “He’s still alive?”</p><p>“In another universe, yes.” replied the blue ring.</p><p>At that moment, the Green Lantern ring caught up to the speedster. It’s light also pulsing, but much brighter than his ring.</p><p>Squaring his shoulders, Barry turned to his ring, “Where is he?”</p><p>There was a tense silence for a moment as the green ring pulsated while his ring dimly pulsed along. </p><p>“Alternate version of ‘Sinestro’ has captured ‘Hal Jordan’.” his ring informed him, “‘Hal Jordan’s’ ring will create a wormhole to universe.” his ring paused for a brief moment, “Mission: Save ‘Hal Jordan’ &amp; bring him back.”</p><p>Barry gulped, he wasn’t confident with his abilities to use the rings, especially after what he’s done to the last planet he visited, but Hal didn’t have his ring and was in danger.</p><p>As the wormhole formed, the center turned into absolute darkness, but the hole was only about a few inches wide by barely a foot tall. Looking at it, he thought he wouldn't be able to fit into it even if he tried. But to his surprise, the wormhole sucked him in, and he was still whole, though he could feel the sides of it squeezing around him a bit, it didn’t make him too claustrophobic. </p><p>The ride didn’t feel like a typical ride, it didn’t feel like he was moving at all, and for a few seconds, his heart rate picked up because of panic, scared of being stuck in a small tube forever. However, then he was spat out, and…nothing seemed like it changed, though he was still in space, so everything would look the same with no significant landmarks.</p><p>“Calculating ‘Hal Jordan’ coordinates.” his Blue Lantern ring announced before a few ticking noises came, then a small ding cued the finding of Hal’s whereabouts.</p><p>Hal’s ring shot forward before Barry could even move, determined to get Hal back. It followed a red string floating aimlessly around.</p><p>His ring told him the directions, taking light notice that he was following the Green Lantern ring – which made sense – as well as the red string – less sense – but every second that went by when they got closer to where Hal was, Barry was dreading it wildly. He didn’t know how to fight with rings; he didn’t accurately know how to lift off with his rings; he didn’t know how to do a lot of things with his rings. </p><p>The best outcome was if his tactics with his speed could be boosted with his rings and if his rival was also ground-bound. </p><p>After taking a turn through the asteroid belt, his ring started guiding him in a different direction from Hal’s ring and the red string.</p><p>A bit confused, Barry still followed his ring’s directions, convinced Hal’s ring was taking a longer route, before realizing he was headed towards Earth.</p><p>Okay…weird… Did Sinestro let Hal go on Earth?</p><p>Glancing behind himself, Barry couldn’t spot Hal’s ring, which gave him a bit of anxiety. However, still, he followed his ring’s navigation, until he landed in a deserted Central City alleyway, to have his suit disintegrate from his body before heading out and carefully heading towards a figure walking on the street.</p><p>“Scanning…” his ring analyzed, “‘Hal Jordan’ confirmed. Green Lantern of Sector 2814: No match.”</p><p>“Well, it’s a different universe, he wouldn’t be part of this universe’s Green Lantern Corps,” Barry told the ring, but he was the only one who he was trying to convince. </p><p>“Hal?” Barry called out, getting the figure to look up at him, his face puzzled at first, but it quickly turned into delight. </p><p>“Barry?” he asked back.</p><p>It was Hal.</p><p>“Hal!” Barry gasped, briefly slipping into the Speedforce to run to Hal, pulling him into a hug, which Hal reciprocated immediately. </p><p>Okay, weird, Hal didn’t usually do that, but he’s in a different universe, and he was captured. He was probably really glad to see someone had finally come and retrieve him. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Kiss To Remember</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>D3) First Times</p><p>This wasn't how things were supposed to go, but the way his heart raced made him think differently.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I missed you! I’m so glad I found you, c’mon, I–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of his sentence was cut off. For a moment, Barry didn’t notice, continuing his sentence but stopped when his lips stopped moving, a warm breath bathed over the skin of his cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal was kissing him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh fuck, oh, God. What’s happening? What does he do? Does he hug him? Is he even kissing back? Oh, God, he isn’t. Should he?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal pulled away before Barry could get the chance to reciprocate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something wrong?” he asked casually.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I–uh–we just–you jus–” Barry sputtered, swallowing back his words, he tried making sense of things, but his brain short-circuited when Hal kissed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything okay? Does my breath smell?” he blew into his hand before smelling it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...I-I-I’m not sure if I’m--I’m caught up…I...” pulling his hand to touch at lightly at his lips, they tingled, but he liked it...maybe a bit too much, “Making your move early?” he laughed uncomfortably.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Hal arched an eyebrow, pulling away from their embrace, his hand lingered on Barry’s arm for a second longer than it should and Barry felt it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I--I mean like, like you should at least take me out...first...if you were gonna…” the speedster blankly blinked for a few seconds, his fragmented sentence evaporating from his tongue. A thick, awkward silence grew between them, making the blond clear his throat, “I...You–Did...I thought...you were...captured by Sinestro…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal’s face contorted with even more confusion. “Sin-who? Bar, did something happen? ...Are you drunk?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Drunk? I...I can’t even get drunk, and what do you mean ‘what’s wrong with </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>’? Why’d you just kiss me?!” Barry exclaimed, his form shaking a bit as a flush burned his cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal's head tilted to his side as he opened his mouth, but closed it back up when no words came out. Trying again, he opened his mouth, and a few words did make it out. “Wh-what do you mean, ‘take you out on a date first? What? What happened in the lab?” A sudden gasp left his lips as if he knew precisely what’s happened, before looking straight at the speedster, “Did something happen back in the lab? Did you get amnesia or something? Oh fuck, oh fuck! We needa go back then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back?” Barry asked, his flush growing when Hal grabbed his hand and pulled him towards...somewhere? He wasn’t sure, but he had a slight assumption as to where they were since a lot of things in this universe seemed the same as his own, so...they’re most likely going in the direction of the station. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal!” stumbling along, Barry called out to the brunette, “Just slow down, you’re in the wrong universe! Hal! Please, just let me bring you back!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Hal replied worriedly, twirling around to face Barry, his face full of concern. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The speedster’s never seen that level of anxiety on Hal’s face for him. The brunette suddenly stepped closer, leaving a small distance between that made the blond’s breath hitch, a part of him almost expecting another kiss, more maybe...hoping, for another. But rather than closing the distance with his lips, Hal extended his arm out to cup Barry’s face in his hand, a gesture feeling as intimate as the press of lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Babe, are you alright?” his eyes cast with uneasiness, “You’re actually scaring me, Bear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I--I thought...but you…”  shaking his head, Barry restarted his sentence, “So, you weren’t captured by Sinestro?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Who? I don’t know who that is, Bar, seriously.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wha--but, but your ring, it-” the speedster was cut short when he pulled Hal’s hand from his face and tried to examine his hand for his Green Lantern ring. He found a ring, but it most definitely wasn’t a Green Lantern ring. The grey band mirrored the placement of a red bow tied on Barry’s ring finger, making the blond arch a brow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My ring?” Hal stepped closer to inspect the ring as well, “What’s wrong with it? It looks normal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hal, it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>silver</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" Barry gasped, snapping back to Hal’s predicament, before realizing it wasn't just any ring, it was an actual, legitimate ring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With wide-eyed realization, everything finally registered. Barry was in a different universe. This is Hal's alternate version, a civilian who has a regular life, someone who – Barry assumes – has some kind of relationship with the alternate version of himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh God, that's why he's so confused, that's why he doesn't understand. His ring located the wrong Hal, and now he totally lost the Green Lantern ring and his own universe's Hal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stepping away from the Hal in front of him, Barry paused for a moment, speed thinking everything over to make sure everything fits into place, then quickly bolted, kicking up dirt and leaving behind an utterly shocked brunette.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was he so stupid? He should've been able to put two and together when Hal went and kissed him, his universe's Hal would never do that. He should've just followed the Green Lantern ring, it probably sensed the original Hal from lightyears away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mentally face-palming himself, Barry groaned inwardly as he skidded to a halt in the middle of nowhere. Looking around, he made sure no looming eyes were on him before whipping out his Blue Lantern ring, his eyes lingering on the red bow on his ring finger before returning back to his blue ring, telling himself it wasn’t his objective at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slyly squinting at it, Barry pulled out his Star Sapphire ring, wondering if it'd be better at finding the right Hal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay," Barry said, "Rings, scan for Hal Jordan, Green Lantern, from my universe." When the rings echoed ticking sounds from each other, Barry briefly wondered if he was specific enough. The dings rang simultaneously, their voices coming at the same time when they said, “Exit out of the asteroid belt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, time for flying. How did he do it last time? Think about being weightless or something, right? Man, how does Hal do that thing where he just takes off? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why can’t I just fly instantly?” Barry mumbled to himself, nervously taking a few steps forward, he imagined himself stepping into the air like some invisible staircase was there, he anxiously glanced around before looking down and closing his eyes. His eyes flicker back open when he notices his feet weren’t planted on the ground, once he did, though, he panicked, causing himself to fall back down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ahh…” Barry grunted, rubbing his sore behind, “Jesus…christ… What the hell was that? Why’d it work </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>time?” He didn’t even feel himself become lighter either, he was just...floating… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few confused, and aching, seconds later, he got back up and dusted himself off before thinking about stepping onto an invisible staircase again. This time, he did feel like he had gotten lighter, but only slightly, if he hadn’t focused on it, he wouldn’t’ve even felt it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was it because of the strength of gravitational pulls on different sized planets? Or did Barry just feel himself become lighter more powerfully because he zoned in on it the first time he lifted off?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Questions upon questions rose from the depths of his brain, but he knew he didn’t have the time, not right now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking a breath to calm himself down, he began lifting into the air, forcing himself to look to the sky instead of how far up he was, but he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>the temperature change around him. The warmer it got under his suit, the more his palms sweat, and that made him more nervous than anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kicking the thought of, it could take one slip of the mind and he’d be dead, Barry tried relaxing when he saw space approaching faster. At least in space, he knew his rings would help him breathe. It was something about launching from Earth that just made him queasy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he escaped Earth’s gravity, he made his way through the asteroid belt before the rings told him the next direction. Glimpsing at his rings, he noticed his pink ring was…leaking? The light seemed to be overflowing as if it had some power it was trying to hold back. He hoped he wouldn’t have to charge it because it’s malfunctioning and having…love…powers overflowing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought of love brought him back to alternate universe Hal, making his cheeks color, but he knew it wasn’t a coincidence. He just hoped the alternate version of himself got to form a…well, a romantic relationship with that Hal. Lord knows he didn’t with his Hal. Jesus, he’s stating Hal as ‘his’ now, honestly, how possessive could he possibly be, he’s on a rescue mission for this man and what’s he doing? Fantasizing over how another version of him is getting game with another version of Hal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes he wishes he can kick himself in the head. This is absolutely not the time to want a relationship with someone who’s been kidnapped who he’s failed to save, so far. Fixing his eyes ahead, Barry zipped forward as he wiped the thoughts of romance from his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hopes he isn’t too late.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Monster and a Half</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>D4) Villains</p>
<p>Barry found Hal, but it may be too late.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hellooo, just a warning, this chapter describes blood and depicts someone being used for experimentation. I wouldn't say it's too violent for the rating 'Teen and up', but if you want me to add the warning of 'Graphic Depictions Of Violence' then just let me know in the comments!<br/>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Why would this universe’s Sinestro want to kidnap Hal? How did Hal even get into this universe? Why did his ring leave him in a time of need? None of it added up, it twisted Barry’s brain into pieces. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did his rings have to do something with it? Why was he following this weird red string? Where does this string lead? Why does he have this string on him? It was so odd. It just absorbed itself back up as he got closer to Hal. Is this a tracking device or something?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever question roaming around in his head, Barry at least had one answer for one question he’s had for a while. It did take a lot out of him, being alone in space with no one around and the concept of time seeming as if it’s nonexistent, it made him feel a bit empty, it made him feel ungrounded. That’s probably why Hal wants to ground him so often because Hal knows what it’s like to feel so out of touch with...everything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe when everything is over when he has Hal back, he could...maybe...just talk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Halt.” his rings told him. Weird, they never told him to suddenly “halt” before, he hasn’t even made it to the next sector over like they told him to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Incoming…” his Star Sapphire ring warned. Now that he’s spent some time with the rings, he’s figured out which voice belonged to which ring. His Star Sapphire ring is much more feminine, while his Blue Lantern is much calmer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yellow Lanterns approaching.” his Blue Lantern specified.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yellow Lanterns? We must be close then.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Threat level: 80%,” his pink ring informed, making Barry’s brows twist. Sure, he knew Yellow Lanterns were dangerous, but he’s wearing a blue </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>Star Sapphire ring, why would they want to mess with him?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rings, Hal Jordan from my universe, scan. Is he near?” Barry asked, noting the threat level yet not particularly caring much. All he needed was Hal, and he’ll be out of this universe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Hal Jordan,’ scanning…” his Blue Lantern verbalized, before ticking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Warning: Yellow Lanterns progressing.” the voice of his Star Sapphire ring announced.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Hal Jordan’: Located two sectors away.” his blue ring dinged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Two sectors away, okay, not too b–”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Warning: Yellow Lanterns surrounding.” his pink ring notified again, though, this time, his Blue Lantern ring threw up a blue bubble as if it heard what the Star Sapphire ring had said and went to protect the speedster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with the Yellow Lanterns? If I just mind my own business, won’t they just go away? It’s not like I’m a Green Lantern or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tread with caution. Yellow Lanterns advancing.” Barry’s Star Sapphire ring forewarned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Giving an exasperated sigh, Barry just nodded and took his ring’s advice. If they want to be overly cautious, then he too will be. You can never be too wary in space, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, uh-directions?” the speedster asked as he squinted at a shining, yellow dot coming towards him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was coming directly towards him, and it definitely had a wearer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Proceed forward.” his Blue Lantern ring said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t do that...” the speedster muttered to himself. Wait, did the ring tell him they were surrounding him?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Twisting around, Barry saw several other Yellow Lanterns closing in on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, okay, okay. What does he do? What </span>
  <em>
    <span>can </span>
  </em>
  <span>he do? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fly! He can fly! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking up, he pulled his body to move higher than the Yellow Lanterns, after a few seconds, he blasted off in the correct direction. But, a yellow net came into his view when he tried to escape, getting him to veer away and take a u-turn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At the opposite end, he caught a glimpse of the other Lanterns pushing in with constructs of nets of their own. Glancing down, he spotted an exit, ducking underneath the yellow constructs, he flew through the hole they left open and blasted off once more as soon as he fled their trap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he thought he successfully avoided the Lanterns, he hesitantly peeked over his shoulder to spot the Yellow Lanterns chasing him. Tapping into the Speedforce, he hoped he could lose them with it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The farther he’s traversed the sectors, he noticed more and more yellow. At first, he dusted it off of him just noting certain things, but as he got closer to where Hal was located, he realized it was actual planets conquered by the Yellow Lanterns when he kept seeing the same Yellow Lantern symbol on rocks and buildings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t exactly like the fear symbol he had in his universe, it was merely one smaller circle inside a bigger circle, but it definitely was the symbol for Yellow Lanterns.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Continuing, Barry followed the red string closely as his Blue Lantern ring announced the directions, while his Star Sapphire ring kept a sharp eye around him. Frequently, he’d look over his shoulder to spot the same Yellow Lanterns chasing him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They really couldn’t take a hint, huh?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever, they were falling behind as he got closer to his destination, it didn’t matter. What mattered was how he was going to fight if he needed to. Lantern fights were probably much different from his regular fists, and speed fighting, and with space having no atmosphere, he loses most of what he can do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before he knew it, he was hovering in front of a yellow, brightly light castle protruding from a planet. Its only reason for being brightly lit was because of the excruciating lack of color other than it’s reflective yellow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘What an original color pallet for his castle,’ Barry thought. That was all he could think of when he saw several Yellow Lanterns rushing towards him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unlike other foes, Lanterns could match his speed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>they could make constructs at the speed of light, so fighting several as a speedster is just a small advantage he had, but it wasn’t much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diving down, the speedster rushed towards the gates, which were locked, because that was just his luck. Turning to catch sight of the Lanterns, he took off when another net was aimed at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were playing cat &amp; mouse now. It wasn’t about just killing; it was about catching and then executing. Which seemed like an extra step, but Barry assumed it was how Sinestro created this entire kingdom. Capture, convert, and kill when they weren’t faithful. It was generic, but it worked most times, which was the devastating part.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could only hope Hal was alright.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal Jordan, location,” Barry asked as he dodged another swipe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Hal Jordan’ location calculating…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Circling the castle, Barry followed the string into an open window in one of the towers. Rushing into the opening, he imagined boards and boarded up the window right after he made it in. He waited for the Lanterns to try and knock his constructs down, but it never came. His heart was pounding in his chest, his adrenaline thrumming in his veins, his rings flaring with the love and hope he felt after he realized he just created constructs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was getting a tight grip on these rings, and he wasn’t going to fail Hal now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dropping down to the bottom floor, he landed gracefully on his feet as his ring answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Hal Jordan location: Earth.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rolling his eyes in exasperation, he made his way through the doorway out of the tower. He barely got to take in his surroundings before a swipe was made to capture him into a cage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Flinging himself to the side, Barry found himself pressed down to the floor with a foot stepping on his chest, getting the air to leave his lungs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His Star Sapphire flared to life when Barry grunted, the flow of energy running up and down his body when he reminded himself he had to save Hal. The thought took him by storm, the memory of Hal surrounding himself with a bubble and blasting it out with shards flying to get his enemies to back down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry mimicked how Hal would’ve done it, surrounding himself with a stiff bubble before expanding it rapidly, making pink crystals come shooting from it, rather than shards. The sharp, pink, diamond-shaped crystals pinning the Yellow Lanterns to the walls with barely an inch of their life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Breathing heavily, Barry could feel himself slightly vibrating with the amount of love buzzing through him, and the fact that he could’ve nearly killed tens of Yellow Lanterns.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s Hal?” the speedster barked, surprising even himself, and shocking himself furthermore when he slinked on over to the nearest Yellow Lantern, taking them by the chin and squaring his jaw. “Where is he?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Yellow Lantern scowled at him, its chest rising and deflating, but it refused to answer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very well then.” he let go of its chin, he glared at them disdainfully, before he noticed one creature trying to hold back its chuckle. Extending his arm out, Barry drew the Lante</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>rn in closer to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what could be so funny at this moment?” the speedster squinted impatiently at the creature, its eyes fully becoming crescent moon-shaped as it laughed out loudly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal Jordan?” it gruffly chortled, “A pink Lantern like you wanting to take on </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hal Jordan</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Your kind is extinct, learn your place! Yellow Lanterns have taken control and will continue to reign over this universe!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Laugh again,” Barry dared the Yellow Lantern, causing its guffawing to swiftly silence, though a smirk was still playing over its face, “No, go on, </span>
  <em>
    <span>laugh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I want to know you’ll die happily.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That didn’t wipe the smirk it had on its face. However, Barry didn’t care, his brain was telling him one thing, and one thing only, to find Hal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With the flick of his hand, Barry threw the Lantern back into the wall, provoking a loud grunt from the creature.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry balled his fists up; his blue eyes followed the red string like a hawk, its presence making itself clearer as it illuminated a bright glow from its thin, trailing form. He pulled himself towards the rope, its light shining brighter as he made through several rooms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s when his mind started to cloud over. Everything began to narrow on the string, whatever he did to follow the string didn’t matter. His tunnel vision on the rope sucked the speedster so far in, all he could remember was waving his hands a few times, a few faraway screams rang in his ears, but other than that, he didn’t remember anything happening.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry vividly recalled vibrating through something before facing the blinding lights derived from a single source his string was connected to. The sight of a creature floating around in an awkwardly painful position broke Barry from his one-track mindset.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inside a pod filled with liquid, the creature floated in the middle of the pod, its breath was being taken to the edge of the capsule with small bubbles full of its air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rise!” he heard a voice shout, making the thing straighten out its two legs, and a burst of maniacal laughter roared from within the chamber.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Its light dimmed significantly, before giving off a blood-curdling half-howl, half-scream, and started to rise from its pedestal. The creature’s eyes shot open; its pupils were only a glowing dot in the middle of darkness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, it wasn’t just any random creature; it was human. Its shape was just deformed and naked, but it was human.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It jerked and contorted into impossible poses, its howl becoming more of shrieks than anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With wide-eyed horror, Barry watched as their vertebrae grew out from underneath their skin, their fingers turning into pointed claws that dug into their flesh palms. Their jaw became unhinged to make room for the knife-like teeth that grew in from its gums as they gave one last unnerving bellow. With all the skin torn with the contortion, the seemingly clear liquid inside the capsule filled with the murkiness of their blood, to the point where they were clouded with the dark, red dye of their blood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shortly before Barry could process what had just happened in front of his eyes, the noise of something collapsing rang in his ears just as the capsule burst open. Spraying the room of thick glass, and bloodied water, just before a shrilling screech broke from the...creature.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Its wail so deafening his Star Sapphire ring reacted by putting up a bubble around the speedster to try and muffle the sound to keep his ears intact. Yet, even with the horrifying sounds, Barry heard a familiarity to it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once everything fell silent, the shield came down, and the urge to get closer pulled Barry towards the beast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carefully stepping over the glass pieces, Barry found the creature’s shaking form on its hands and knees, disturbing grunts of pain coming from it just before it spat out blood, and it went to look up at Barry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gasping, Barry took a step back, his ankle giving in and making him crash down upon the layer of tiny, razor-sharp glass pieces. Letting out a helpless yelp, he looked up to keep his eyes on the creature.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It rose to his feet, his bloody palms full of scratches, claw marks, and sharp shards digging painfully deep into his skin, making gashes for blood to leak from his palm, along with the way the bones of his fingers grew out, his flesh pierced by his bone claws, causing blood to leak from the tips of his fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal…” Barry murmured before the creature slammed his fists towards the speedster, raising his arms to defend himself, a pink shield quickly pulling up in front of him for it to smash.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a second rest after the attack, Barry rolled over to push himself to his knees, his exposed flesh being bit by the shards as his healing worked quickly to heal the damage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This wasn’t Hal, not the one from </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>universe. So, then what was the string for? With his mind racing, Barry’s blue eyes scanned around the room to see that this whole place looked more like an experiment zone than anything else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A thundering cry came from the thing as a brightly light symbol of this universe’s Yellow Lantern glowed from the middle of its chest. After, it charged straight towards the speedster, and that’s when he saw it, the white stripe of hair at his temple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Parallax.” Barry breathed, his legs already escaping the swinging fists. Running away as quickly as he could in heels, then he turned around to speed back and put in a few punches into Parallax.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once he got him to land on his side, Barry crouched down to examine him. Running his fingers over the scattering of bloody injuries Hal already had on his body, Barry failed to see an incoming net coming to catch him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Screaming from inside the yellow construct, Barry saw a few glimpses of pink skin and slicked-back hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How nice for a victim to show up.” the alien chuckled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Give him up, Sinestro! He’s not yours, and Parallax isn’t yours to play with either!” Barry shouted, struggling to release himself from the net’s holes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s impressive a pink Lantern is still out there. Anymore of your kind to track down?” Sinestro inquired.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re stupid even to think you can fight a Blue Lantern </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>Star Sapphire.” Barry kicked at the netting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Blue Lantern?” he sounded delighted, “Two Lanterns of different Corps teaming up to take down the Yellow Lanterns? How flattering.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Teaming? No, I–” that’s when he glanced down at himself, his feet now both were in heels. Feeling at himself, Barry didn’t feel his Blue lantern uniform, yet when he looked at his fist, he still could see the Blue Lantern ring glowing dully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you enjoy my latest creation? A Yellow Lantern merged with a creature made entirely from Fear.” Sinestro smirked as Parallax stumbled to his feet. “He needs a bit of help with some things, but when the tweaks are flushed out, this whole universe will bow before the Yellow Lanterns!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not even from this universe! He belongs to mine!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should’ve gotten an Orange Lantern ring, really. Oh wait, I also wiped them out as well.” he laughed, “What a victory that was.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You might’ve taken down the Lanterns, but have you ever…” Barry vibrated from the construct and fell before tapping into the Speedforce to get to his feet. He darted around towards Parallax to lob a few punches at the creature’s vital parts and skid to a halt as he faced Sinestro, placing a foot on Hal to make him stay on the ground. “fought a speedster?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sinestro’s mouth was agape before he swallowed, and his lips pressed into a thin, straight line. “Speedster?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Socking the Lantern in the jaw at the speed of sound, Barry grinned, “Speedster.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The hair at the back of his neck pricked up before a hand crashed into his neck and sent him flying through the wall and out into space. The hand gripped tighter around the back of his neck as blood coated the back of Barry’s throat, making his fingers slip. As his grasp slipped from Barry’s neck, Parallax diverted their direction to the planet, planning to bury the speedster’s face in the dirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal!” Barry choked out, pulling his hands back to snatch Parallax’s wrist, sending a powerful jolt into him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parallax recoiled back, hissing at Barry as his Blue Lantern burned a fire blue, and half of his uniform switched back to being half pink and half blue. Turning to face Parallax, Barry got a good look at him, seeing the overpowering yellow spark in his eyes, rather than the warm brown he was used to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal! Please, you have to come back to me!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parallax sharply hisses at him again, speaking this time, “Leave me to rule this universe!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, this isn’t your universe! This isn’t your home!” Barry cried out, his stance becoming smaller, “Please, just let me bring you back. You can be a Green Lantern again! Protect the universe, laugh with your Green Lantern family, and...and…” swallowing thickly, Barry opening his arms a bit, “and...be with me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parallax growled, his stance wide but no signal of him striking, “I don’t have a home anymore! This is my home now!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Parallax!” with that, he launched forward in an attempt to catch the speedster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry dived away, flying to the area Parallax had abandoned. “You’re not. You’re still Hal. You’re still in there! You have to fight him, Hal! You’ve done it before, and you can do it again!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not Hal! I’m not–” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parallax cut himself off as several Yellow Lanterns ambushed Barry from behind, roughly apprehending him back while Barry instantly fought against them. One of them somehow pulling off Barry’s cowl and beginning to choke at the fighting Lantern. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry was planning to make another bubble again when sudden energy whisked through his body, as he spotted Parallax coming full force at him. But when he touched him, an explosion erupted from the two, blowing the rest of the Yellow Lanterns back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parallax’s claws locked onto Barry’s arms as the creature convulsed with bright blue light radiating from his form. Barry swore he saw one of Parallax’s teeth slightly shrink into his gums until it disappeared and was replaced with a healthy human tooth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then it clicked, his Blue Lantern ring could heal, he could help Hal. However, he realized too late, since Parallax let go of him and was blown back as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The speedster thought on his toes, rushing to where he anticipated Hal to come flying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wormhole, wormhole, I need a wormhole,” he mumbled to himself as he looked around as if he’d find a wormhole to his universe somewhere nearby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did he have to make one? How does someone even make a wormhole? He couldn’t even fathom how much energy that would take.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fortunately, that was when Hal’s familiar Green Lantern ring came whizzing around just in time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wormhole! Blue Lantern, tell Green Lantern to create a wormhole back to my universe,” he commanded, not entirely sure if that was how rings communicated, but he was willing to try.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Green Lantern stopped in front of him, its light now blinking a few times before it chirped out, “Low battery: 20% energy. Battery enough for ‘1’ wormhole.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cupping the ring in his hands to not lose it, Barry agreed for the Green Lantern ring to make the wormhole. Just as Hal was flying back from the initial shock of Barry’s Blue Lantern ring, he stopped, seemingly noticing he could stop himself from flying away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parallax looked around, and when he saw Barry in his peripherals, he fixed in and plunged towards the speedster with narrowed eyes. When they were only a few feet apart, Barry shouted, “Now!” creating a black wormhole to push its way from the Green Lantern ring, and swallows Parallax. Taking a deep breath, Barry powered up his Blue Lantern ring and jumped in with Hal’s Green Lantern ring in his hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once the entrance was closed, Barry looked to see Parallax struggling to free himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry simply let it happen, peeking into his hands, he made sure the Green Lantern ring was still working until it spat the two back out into their universe. That when its light died out, and Barry carefully slipped it onto his index finger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Turning to look directly at Parallax, Barry rushed towards him, grabbing him by his vertebrae and distributed his blue light over to the Parallax, making him scream in agony.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Releasing a boa constrictor from his Blue Lantern ring, the glowing snake wrapped around Parallax tightly before he could make a move. Barry initially left for Hal to breathe, but once Parallax began fighting, the snake began to push hardest against his struggling, only making Parallax shout. Slowly, extremely so, Barry started to see Parallax’s transformation into Hal, but he also could feel him weaken against the constraints.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Star Sapphire, scan for a pulse in Hal.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Scanning for ‘a pulse’ in ‘Hal Jordan’.” a few milliseconds ticked by before Barry was informed that Hal was still alive, but his pulse was dropping quickly, which Barry could see blatantly in front of him.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Place warning...uh...when Hal Jordan’s pulse gets dangerously low, for humans, umm...yeah.” Barry stuttered. Once the warning was placed, Parallax finally gave out, and the snake was pulled back into Barry’s ring.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Flying down closer to Hal’s form, Barry inspected it for the damage Sinestro had done. The results were disturbing, to say the least – even with the forensic career he had. Barry held Hal’s hand in his to heal the claws that tore through Hal’s flesh, the blond felt sick and disgusted by just the look of it. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how it must’ve felt for Hal to be subjected to that level of intense pain and not be able to faint or become unconscious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tenderly rubbing at the back of Hal’s hand, Barry carefully brushed a few strands of hair from the brunette’s face as he left out a sigh that was between relief and concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lowering his head until his forehead pressed against Hal’s hand, Barry squeezed his eyes as his eyebrows knitted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come back to me, Hal. Please, come back to me.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey! Just a heads up, the next chapter is going to be much, much longer than this one and the last three, so just be ready! =] Or don't, I can't make you do anything you don't wanna do.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Three Weeks In A Month</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>D5) Future</p><p>Time to go back to normal life.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Normal life was hard to get back to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry didn’t know precisely how long he had spent trying to save and heal Hal since time seemed irrelevant after he found Hal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry had been gone for more time than he had thought when a Green Lantern had landed beside him as he was in the middle of healing Hal’s jaw, telling him he had to go to Oa since John had been looking for him for days.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Lantern had helped him to travel to Oa – as well as carry Hal to the planet to see if there was any faster way of healing him – there, they both waited as the Lantern contacted John, and presented Hal to the Guardians. The latter had no clue what had happened and weren’t sure how to heal him, other than Barry’s Blue Lantern powers. They also reached out to Saint Walker, who said he’d never heard of what Hal had gone through, but was willing to come to heal him if needed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>John had arrived to take Barry back to Earth but stayed for a bit for Saint Walker to come and examine Hal, as well as heal him, just for the convenience of it. If Hal were to improve and become human again, John could take them both back to Earth and go from there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy. Both John and Saint Walker grimaced when they first laid eyes on Hal’s state, making Barry’s anxiety for his friend heavier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Saint Walker went to heal Hal but was taken aback when he couldn’t, saying the transformation was outside of the realm; his Blue Lantern magic could heal. Barry had to explain to everyone how Hal, somehow, was pulled into a different universe. His ring left him, which was how it was easier for that universe’s Sinestro to get Hal into a tube and forced Parallax to infect him fast, which was as to why Hal looked worse than when he first was affected by Parallax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Guardians nodded along, saying it made sense. Suppose that universe Yellow Lanterns had a whole kingdom and defeated the Green Lanterns for good. In that case, it must’ve been easy for them to create something to confuse the Green Lantern rings to think the wielder themselves were dead, and the ring will leave them, making both the ring and owner vulnerable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Saint Walker proceeded to look over Hal, then informed Barry that since he had physically been in the universe with Hal, he is the only one able to heal him. He granted him the responsibility of healer by letting him keep the Blue Lantern ring. His Star Sapphire ring, however, was taken back – with a bit of hassle from the ring – which Barry also thought was best, both for him and every living entity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Afterward, John flew both Barry and Hal back to Earth, and with some directions from the speedster, silently landed in front of the blond’s house. Once they were inside, Barry began healing Hal again, John gave a sincere apology for up-and-leaving the speedster on an alien planet, which transitioned into Barry occasionally asking John some questions about how to control the ring, while John was still around to keep an eye on Hal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though the Green Lantern gave him excellent advice, he said one thing that kept the speedster wondering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Barry was nearly done with healing Hal’s spine, John threw out, “You two really are good for each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry had asked him what he meant, but the Lantern simply smiled knowingly and shook his head, muttering out, “Nevermind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It's been a few days since then. Well, at least Barry thinks so. Getting used to Earth time was a bit of a jump, but nothing his – already messed up – sleeping schedule hadn’t worked with. But the thought still floats around at the back of his head, poking at his brain and eventually making him remember about the brunette that is lying comfortably on his couch, and then he’d get worried that Hal wouldn’t wake up ever again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was about a day in when Hal hadn’t awakened from his slumber that Barry got worried and transferred him to the med-bay—letting J’onn hook up a feeding tube and checking over his vitals before J’onn gave him the green light on Hal’s health. Barry had spent a few minutes beside the Lantern before he bid his goodbye and raced home.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Barry kept frequently checking up on Hal, looking over how he was doing and just keeping him company whenever he didn't have any visitors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tonight wouldn't be any different. Filing the papers, Barry grabbed his coat and felt at his pants, making sure he had his belongings before he exited the lab. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling his coat on, Barry glanced up to see if he could tell what the weather would be like from the windows of the building. He couldn't, but he knew he'd have to scout the cities and visit Hal before he could go home and unwind a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pushing the door open, Barry made his way around the building to have a bit of privacy to transform into The Flash. But, before he could turn his back, he spotted an emerald light shining a few miles away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stared at it for a few seconds before shaking his head and made his way behind a dumpster, quickly changing, then zooming from his hiding space to go survey the city.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Checking the streets to the crevasses of Central City, only a few crimes were happening. A few back-alley criminals planning a heist, and a woman seen emptying her pepper-spray on a petty thief, which he shortly brought to the police station. Otherwise, after thoroughly scanning the city, Barry dashed to Coast City. It was the least he could do when Hal was in the med-bay, and perhaps a small part of him hopes for Hal to be tucked safely in his apartment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The speedster wiped up and down the streets of Coast City, finding far more crime happening than in Central City, which made a bit of sense. Their hero was typically off-world, so their chances of committing crime were higher than in Central, but Hal has an equal if not a little more strength. Though he doesn’t expect him to fight against criminals violently, he would guess the civilians are wearier of Green Lantern’s powers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Placing the worst of the criminals he found that night into the police station, he wrote along their arm, ‘The Flash as witness’ as he does most of the perpetrators from outside of his city. Barry followed the streets to maybe peek into Hal’s apartment, just to see if he was let go and returned home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On his way to Hal’s apartment, a green wall had unexpectedly formed in his way, causing him to skit to a halt, and get scooped up by a very familiar Green Lantern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Speak of the devil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal?” Barry exclaimed, wide-eyed, before shaking his head, “Sorry, sorry, I mean GL. I mean–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nice to see you too, Flash.” Hal grinned widely, obviously unfazed by Barry’s hiccup, “What’s gotten you to run over here from Central?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry quickly noticed they were accelerating in height, making him nervous as his hands tightened on the baseball glove Hal had scooped him up in. “Uh, I was gonna check up on you, I wanted to uhm, see if you were in your apartment first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“J’onn said I was healthy enough to leave, and now, here I am.” Hal answered a question that was never asked, “He also told me to ask you about everything that’s happened, since I remember nothing, other than landing somewhere and being taken hostage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh…” a part of Barry was expecting Hal not to remember being transformed and everything after that, but he didn’t expect him to chase after him and want to talk about it. “Yeah, yeah, can we go someplace where my ears won’t pop, though?”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>True to his word, the speedster explained to the Lantern what happened after taking a detour to Asia to pick up some Chinese food. When they made it back to Barry’s house, he phoned Wally to patrol the city for him that night, then they both kicked back on the couch as Barry began explaining what had happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>More than once, Barry had to pause and reevaluate when each event happened, everything was jumbled around in his brain, and few things made sense even as he was trying to describe it. However, that always seems to happen whenever time seems nonexistent; it was even harder to pinpoint what happened and when, when out in space. Still, Hal seemed to understand as he patiently listened even when he finished his takeout box.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Barry had finished explaining what he remembers, Hal told the little of what he can recall. The story goes, Hal was placed on a short mission: investigate the planet Barry had rampaged since a lot of complaints were issued on its grounds. Hal thought it was going to be simple, and landing on the planet, it didn’t seem any more suspicious than any other planet. But when Hal went to talk to some of the inhibitors, they kept trying to lead him into a cave, which was odd in itself. Yet, Hal had taken the bait and was unceremoniously pushed into a portal, where Yellow Lanterns had ambushed him. The last thing he remembers was one of them holding something up to his face, and someone else slipping off his ring before he woke up in a medical bed with the sound of a heart monitor yelling in his ear and was disgustingly sore all over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The night seemed to transition into a state of easiness as they both had their worries and questions answered, the two heroes cleaned up their dinner and went back to relaxing on the couch to watch some mindless cartoon that was airing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry could feel himself lulling off before he heard Hal mumble something about contacting the other Green Lanterns. He blinked lazily at the screen, watching as colorful characters he didn’t even know the names of, moved across the screen, and interacted with each other. After a while, Barry stretched his arms out as he groaned satisfyingly, before going to check the time, and realized it was nearly two a.m. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wiping his hand over his face, Barry got up and brushed off the wrinkles from his shirt. “I’m gonna go to bed.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal nodded, Barry could tell his eyelids were heavy, so he insisted Hal stay over and he’d provide a pillow and blanket for him to sleep with. He wasn’t met with protest, so he set off to collect a spare pillow and blanket he had in a storage closet. He moved upstairs to find Hal a toothbrush, and maybe his own tube toothpaste, once they were collected Barry passed them over to the brunette and told him he could use the guest bathroom, before bidding him goodnight, and disappearing inside his room to get ready for bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quickly brushing his teeth, Barry sprayed on some dry shampoo, put on his pajamas, and called it a night. Passing out on his covers before he could make it to the pillows, but promptly sliding under the covers when the room began to become colder.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Waking up to his alarm clock blasting in his ear, Barry sluggishly shut it up and swaddled himself back under the covers, smoothly drifting back to sleep. It felt like hours had passed when his alarm rang again, and – as does his morning routine go – pressing the snooze button before going back to sleep. Though this morning, his brain woke him up after a few minutes into getting back into his slumber, he blinked up at the ceiling a few times, his body too comfortable to move until his alarm rang, this time he switched it off and rolled out of bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Scratching the back of his neck, he threw on a light jacket to compensate for the chilly temperature. Opening his bedroom door, he remembers Hal is accompanying the couch but was quickly replaced with the thought of coffee when the strong scent hit his nostrils.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Following his nose, Barry made his way downstairs to find Hal in the kitchen, the coffee machine already started. Hal turned from the counter, giving a groggy “Good morning” before turning his attention to his ring and scratching the morning stubble on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y’r up e’rly.'' The speedster rubbed at his eye, letting the scent of coffee caffeinate his tired state as he realized he didn’t provide Hal any pajamas. Hal’s still wearing the clothes he exited the med-bay with. Suddenly aware of how he was eyeing his friend, he swung his attention to the coffee machine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heard your alarm.” he simply answered, his voice still husky from sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sorry… Sorry I didn’t lend you any comfortable clothing to sleep in,” Barry awkwardly apologized, “I guess I forgot you didn’t have any.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal waved it off before projecting an image of a Guardian, which began talking to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Standing where he was, Barry deliberately didn’t look at Hal as he made conversation with the Guardian hologram projected from his ring. His eyes wandered around for him to start remembering how this was exactly how he acted in high school. The memories flooding him and making him uncomfortably conscious of his ability to stand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Assuming he wasn’t going to acquire any coffee at the moment, Barry fumbled back upstairs to get ready for the day as he held the bridge of his nose between his fingers and sighed inwardly. He wasn’t sure if Hal was going back to Lantern duty on the spot, he hoped not, even if Hal didn’t remember everything that happened, it still was traumatic to a certain extent. Besides, they don’t know if the Blue Lantern healing has fully worked, or if there’s still some Parallax left in him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brushing his teeth clean and combing his hair back, Barry went to pick himself a presentable outfit to wear. Plus, they still don’t know if the Blue Lantern controlled Parallax, or if it just turned Hal back to himself physically, there could still be Parallax inside Hal. Barry had seen first-hand how much of a powerhouse those Yellow Lanterns were; he wouldn’t be surprised if that universe’s Parallax could overpower Blue Lantern healing magic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Smoothing out his plaid sweater vest, he fixed the collar of his cream-colored dress shirt, secretly hoping for Hal to stay around for longer, but he knew he’d most definitely be gone once Barry made it downstairs. Sighing to himself, he pulled a tie from his wardrobe and tied it around his neck before clipping it down to his shirt. Chancing a glance at the clock, he breathed a sigh of relief when he found out he may not be late today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heading downstairs, he briefly searched around to see if Hal was anywhere to be seen. Alas, he wasn’t, and though Barry knew it was bound to happen, a part of him was still disappointed in the disappearance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he went through with his breakfast, grabbed his keys, and hastily made his way outside. The cold air hit his face, making him double-back to bring his jacket with him, stepping out from under the porch, he caught a glimpse of a green light getting further from the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Barry didn’t mean to skip lunch; he was just so sure he was going to be finished with the paperwork in a few minutes that when his eyes looked back up from his pen, Patty had left the lab with a goodbye he didn’t remember saying back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only thing telling him the day had passed without his knowledge was that his hand cramped up horrible, even though he distantly recollected putting his pen down and going to investigate a piece of evidence. Blinking back into the present, he squinted at the clock hanging on the wall across him where he was sitting. He could barely care for the minute arm now that his days felt like a bunch of hours, days, and weeks collected together in some part of his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hour hand was pointing to the nine, making the speedster groan tiredly. No one needs to know they worked two hours overtime, but here he was, absolutely exhausted from his determination from needing to finish his papers and his empty stomach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Placing his pen down, Barry dragged himself from his chair and straightened out his papers to file them. He shuffled around the lab to clean up the vials and adequately store the evidence before washing his hands. Grabbing for his jacket draped on the back of his chair, replacing it with his lab coat, Barry looked around, checking off everything he had to do and if he had everything. Once he made sure he did, the blond dragged himself out the lab, seeing the same forensic scientist he’d cross paths with whenever he worked overtime. Barry was pretty sure his name began with a G, or maybe a J? They didn’t work on the same floor, but he’s acquaintances with some people the guy talks to sometimes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Typically, they’d just smile at each other whenever they passed, a silent greeting to one another before going back to their lives, but tonight wasn’t the case.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they were passing, Barry gave a tired smile before he placed a hand on Barry’s arm, stopping him for a moment. “Uhm, Green Lantern is outside waiting for you. He was asking for you. Just a heads up.” he nervously grinned back as he informed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Barry replied, “Uh...thanks.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guy pulled his hand away and slightly nodded. They parted ways quickly, and just as the guy had told him, Hal was standing outside in the parking lot, leaning against Barry’s car, in his Green Lantern uniform. His head turned up, instantly, the glow of his form grew a neon green when he lifted from the floor and flew towards the speedster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Barry!” he exclaimed, “We needa go to Oa.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What–?” Barry was cut off when Hal formed a bubble around him and started lifting into the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, you needa get your ring.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal, there are security cam– Why do I need to go to Oa?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Guardians want to talk to you about some things.” </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turns out “some things” was an entire list of what to do if Hal turned into Parallax again. They told him Hal was going to be given a month off, just to make sure any lingering effects of Parallax were all gone from him, and for him to properly recover. Barry felt like he was in court with all the Guardians’ stern glares, as Hal stood to the side with his head down and his hands behind his back, acting like a witness having to relive what they saw. It made Barry feel bad for almost having to force him to be in the area while the Guardians talked to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His tired brain felt like it was going to give up on remembering everything the Guardians were saying after they’ve all said what they needed to. Hal and Barry were let free afterward, and that was when he felt relief course through him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so tired,” Barry stated, rubbing his hands over his eyes before looking at Hal. His mouth was pressed into a thin line, and his jaw was squared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mention of him being Parallax was getting to him. It didn’t help that the Guardians advised Barry to practically babysit him. Barry knew Hal could snap, but he didn’t think Hal would snap instantaneously, though, Parallax did destroy the entire universe last time he was let free.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sadly offering a smile to Hal, he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, getting Hal to look up at him. “Wanna get something to eat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He seemed to loosen up over the offer since he accepted it. Taking hold of Barry’s arm as they started lifting off from Oa, he was in the middle of asking where the speedster wanted to eat before something seemed to hit him, and he excitedly told Barry about some really good space food place he found by accident.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry agreed to follow him, but Hal decided to slip his grasp from his arm down to his hand, making the Blue Lantern blush lightly. He knew it was supposed to be platonic, but the thought of Hal’s alternate universe version kissing him made butterflies flutter around in his stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kicking the memory to the back of his mind, he flew with Hal, watching as he surveyed the area and turned accordingly. A few Green Lanterns passed by, giving a smile or a greeting, or sometimes even a salute to Hal, which he would reciprocate, before going about their business. They didn’t seem to acknowledge Barry, but he was okay with that. The firm grip of Hal’s fingers around his own was enough attention for him.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>The flame grew taller when Hal pulled away. The Green Lantern’s brown eyes reflected the yellow and orange fire, its heat radiating over his palm when he placed a hand over the light, taking it away to inch his nose towards the flickering flame.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s this supposed to smell like again?” Hal queried, lifting his head from the table, watching as Barry stored away the groceries they bought. Barry hadn’t realized how long it had been since Hal had gone grocery shopping. Hal had offhandedly commented about how it must’ve been a few months since he's even gone into a grocery store, so a day later – on one of Barry’s days off – they decided to go shopping. Most groceries were food Hal hasn’t had in a while and was curious enough to pick up before shuffling over to Barry and asking if he could buy it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, doesn’t it say on the jar?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Picking up the entire candle, Hal read the label on the glass jar out loud. “Lemon Lavender.” He made a face as he spun it around and turned it upside-down to try and find more information, “Aren’t those...contradicting smells? I thought this was just lavender.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry pulled his attention from the cupboard just in time to see Hal carelessly let go of the candle. Tapping into the Speedforce, he raced towards the dining table to hastily grab hold of the candle and turn it up-right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal if you turn it upside-down, the flame will go out.” Barry reminded him, placing the–now extinguished–candle back on the table. Picking the lighter back up, he carefully relit the torch, “Also, Earth has gravity.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right. Sorry.” Hal apologized, watching the flame dance around the melted wax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry went back to unloading the groceries, quietly humming a tune while doing so. After he finished, he looked to Hal, who was still fascinated with the glowing candle. It was amusing, Hal, who has seen stars up close and fantastic planet ecosystems, is now captivated by a fire in a jar surrounded by scented wax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How does it smell?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It actually doesn’t smell bad.” Hal lifted the candle precariously – as if he’d drop it at any second – to Barry’s nose for him to catch a whiff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm… Calming.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal nodded eagerly like he’s overjoyed to be proven right. Bringing the jar back to the table, Hal sniffed it once more. “How come you don’t have candles?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, well, they’re kinda expensive.” Barry shrugged, “And I never needed one, so…”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Barry wasn’t the best cook, but he could say with confidence that Hal needed to learn a few things before he could attempt to cook with him. It’s been about a week since they visited Oa, and Hal had pushed himself enough to go and ask Carol about test piloting. Hal had described the meeting as “not great, but at least she said okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ever since then, they’ve seen each other less than the past few days, but they still got to see each other in the evenings, so at least it wasn’t every other Justice League meeting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right now, though, Barry and Hal were trying to make dinner. They have been having take-out ever since Hal got back from the med-bay, but now that they have actual ingredients, and the two had nothing to do tonight, Hal was somewhat excited to start seeing what’s so exciting about cooking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A little bit too excited, seeing as Hal had skipped cleaning the vegetables and went straight to cutting them. After a minute of Barry trying to explain the directions to Hal, the brunette nodded, then dumped the chopped red potatoes into a bowl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m excited, the last time I made a good dinner was with Carol, before I got the ring.” Hal bounced on his toes a little, a small smile painted on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry smiled as well, though with knitted brows, as he placed a colander on the other side of the sink. “Maybe we should start cooking dinner more often then.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal shrugged at the suggestion, but his shoulders seemed to smooth out afterward like he was open to the idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y’know, you could always season the roast, washing the vegetables can get repetitive after a while.” the speedster made his way to the refrigerator, sliding out the roast and ripping through the plastic wrap surrounding it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you said the vegetables would go in after, like, two hours. That’s plenty of time to wash these guys.” Barry could hear him swishing the potatoes around in the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to wash all the vegetables yourself. We could take turns.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry grabbed a bowl and a cutting board, going to mince the garlic and herbs. Sliding the pieces into the bowl, he drowned them in olive oil, rained some salt and pepper over the concoction, then mixed them up before thoroughly rubbing the beef all over with his seasoning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Transferring the meat over to the roast rack, he quickly made his way to Hal at the sink to wash his hands. Glancing at him rolling the asparagus under that water, Barry almost forgot they’ve only been sharing the same house for a little over a week. Hal looked so at ease in his surroundings, though Barry assumes that would come from his work as a Green Lantern, and how often he has to travel around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After he had the roast in the oven, he set the timer and offered Hal a hand at washing the greens. Hal, being a hero who doesn’t ask for help, declined. Turning back to the oven, Barry grabbed a pan from the stovetop, rinsing it to ensure it was clean, then wiped it down and went to collect the vegetables Hal had already washed and began cutting them accordingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Throwing the potatoes on the pan, Barry took his time as he skinned the carrots, he sliced the red onion into strips and placed them into the bowl, and chopped off the tails, and halved some of the green beans. Absentmindedly gently rocking his body to Hal humming a song, a few lyrics sprinkled with his humming, but most of it was just barely above his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The timer rang shortly, Barry swiftly jumped to the oven, reducing the temperature before turning the timer to an hour and forty minutes, then going back to the cutting board. Barry kept at a rhythm while chopping, lining the vegetables up at the side of the sink, and after he had prepared all the plants for washing, he started cutting the vegetables that Hal had cleaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pretty soon, Barry had cut and tossed the vegetables into the pan dousing them with some oil and seasoning, just to be ready when the roast was done, then they could toss it in the oven and wait until those are done, which will be when the roast had cool down enough so they’d be able to eat it without getting burnt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the remaining time that had, though, Hal told Barry he would hop in the shower as they wait. While Hal was in Barry's shower – which he really shouldn’t overthink about – he went to flop himself on the couch, taking a slight breather as he – very shamefully – wondered what Hal would look in the shower. A specific image came up in his head that made him bury his face into his hands and roughly rub at his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was helpless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sitting upright, the sudden thought of, ‘Did Hal grab any clothes?’ crept into his brain. Hal had been dropping into his apartment whenever he decided to take a shower. This was the first time Hal had taken a shower in Barry’s house, and he didn’t remember Hal bringing an extra pair of clothes when he returned from work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Getting up, he walked to the bathroom door, knocking to alert Hal of his presence. “Hal?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?!” Hal raised his voice over the splash of water. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh-” Barry hesitated for a second, rethinking his sentence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need any clothes?!” Barry responded. He heard the sound of the door opening, then the shower turning off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, could you get some for me?” came Hal’s answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-Okay, wait a few seconds, I’ll get some from your apartment.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Transforming into the Flash, Barry sped to Coast City in less than a minute and vibrated into Hal’s apartment in a minute. Scanning around Hal’s living area, he wondered why it looked so bare. Maybe Hal sold a few things the last time he was over, or perhaps he just never noticed how extremely minimalist he lived.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Making his way to Hal’s room, Barry realized he didn’t have anything. No furniture, no essentials, he didn’t have a single thing in his apartment that wasn’t bolted or attached down to the floor. The only moveable things Barry could see were a few spiderwebs, and maybe a bug or two. Flicking a nearby light switch, the lights didn’t work; going to the bathroom sink, the faucet won't turn on. Was Hal off-world for so long he couldn’t keep up with rent? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, God, Hal must be in so much debt. Is he paying it off? He hopes he is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound of the front door unlocking made Barry peering out the bathroom to see someone pushing the door open with a scowl on their face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who the hell…?” she stopped for a second once he eyes landed on Barry’s frozen form, “Oh, Oh my God, Flash?” she stumbled back a little, “Flash, The Flash? Holy shit, I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone else. I didn’t know you were here. I'm so sorry!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Barry greeted, “Sorry, I was just--I thought something went in here.” he lied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s fine, no, no that's absolutely fine! I thought–I mean if it means helping the Justice League. I just--I just thought you were a previous tenant.” she sputtered, “He’d always come back and somehow break into here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that doesn’t sound very safe.” Barry wondered if it was Hal who would break into his apartment, “What did he look like? Perhaps I can keep an eye out if I do see him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well, he’s--well he’s a little over six feet and has brown hair–but it’s alright, he moved out a few months ago. I haven’t seen him since, so I think he left for good.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see.” Barry looked around the room, “Well if he isn’t a hassle anymore, I figure everything’s alright then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything’s fine,” she stopped, mirroring the way Barry looked around the room, “Uh, who was it you needed to find?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uhm, I can’t find them, I assume they haven't gone in here after all.” speeding to be in front of the open door, Barry smiled and said, “Better figure out where they went, have a nice day!” Zooming out of Coast City he made his way back to his house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What was he supposed to do now? Hal didn't have any clothes, and if Hal didn't have an apartment for months, then where was he getting his clothes? Was he just buying them on the spot? What was Barry supposed to give Hal? He could lend him his own pajamas, it might be a tight fit, but it'd be better than nothing. He could just pop Hal's clothes in the washing machine, and he could wear Barry's clothes in as a substitute in the meanwhile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that thought, he had arrived in front of his house. Vibrating through the door, he raced to his bedroom, picked out the biggest pair of pajamas he had. The best he could do was a baggy t-shirt and pajama pants that had blue butterflies decorating its surface. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry paused, looking at his briefs drawer, and blushed deeply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did...Did Hal need...underwear?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, of course, he did, but he doesn't know...if it'd fit him…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking a deep breath, he fished a grey pair from his drawer and buried it under the shirt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"BARRY?" Hal's voice echoed throughout the bathroom and leaked out into the hallway, "BARRY, YOU STILL THERE?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm here!" Barry shouted back, "Do you--I couldn't find any clothes in your apartment, do you mind wearing my clothes while your clothes get washed?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There wasn't an answer for a bit, allowing Barry to make his way to the bathroom door and knock on the door for Hal's response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh, I mean, I guess… If you want to." Hal said, sounding a bit uneasy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, can you unlock the door?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knob clicked to be unlocked, and Barry carefully pushed the door to crack open, then slipped the clothes through, which received him a "Thanks."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once the door closed back up, Barry gave a silent yet relieved sigh. Keeping himself together, he needed to remember this was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not some celebrity. He just handed him some clothes; it shouldn't be a big deal, because it's not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trying to keep his mind off everything, he went to check up on the food. The smell drifted throughout the house, and it smelled wonderful, but the heat radiating from the oven wasn’t helping with toning the flush on the speedster’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Running over to the living room windows, he pushed them open, letting the cold air hit his face, already making him feel much better. He leaned out and took a deep breath, propping his elbows on the window sill, merely letting the wind run along his face to get inside and wiping his mind of thoughts. His senses relaxed and he didn’t immediately notice Hal had exited the bathroom, his chocolate brown hair slicked back with how damp it is and his skin still soft to the touch. He also didn’t realize the pilot had entered the living room and curiously looked upon him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The roast not done yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry’s ears perked up with the sound of Hal’s voice. Spinning around to see him in the exact clothes he lent him, making him avert his eyes just enough for them not to make eye contact. “Uh, no, not yet.” Getting to his feet, he dusted himself off uncomfortably under Hal’s eyes, “Maybe, fifteen-twenty more minutes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you wanna take a shower?” Hal jutted a finger towards the bathroom, “I can keep an eye on the food… Hopefully.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did he trust Hal enough to take out a roast and put potatoes in the oven? Well, he believed in Hal to catch when he’s falling off a twenty-story building. Honestly, what's the worst that can happen? He doubted Hal could light his entire house on fire in fifteen to twenty minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.” Barry finally answered, “Just remember, after you pull out the roast, put the vegetables in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal nodded curtly, making Barry have more confidence in the brunette. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’ll be back soon, just don’t burn the house down,” Barry stated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll try my best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking a breath, he wondered why he was so nervous around Hal in the first place. But, when he passed him, the sudden warmth emitting from his freckled skin hit his own, even though they weren’t touching, causing Barry to quicken his pace to his room, then making his way towards the bathroom when he had his clothes with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The water splattered against the tiles and dribbled down his skin. This was what he needed. Just a nice soak was always welcomed, but especially after a long day, that is to say, it wasn’t a horrible day, it was just long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That must be why he freshened up so fast without even realizing it. He was soon shaving his face and slipping into some comfy pajamas, sighing happily while doing so. He was out of the bathroom in less than fifteen minutes, the scent was stronger, and his stomach was hungry, it growled endlessly as he headed towards the kitchen, where Hal was standing, watching the roast in the oven.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal looked to Barry, giving him a smile then carried on looking at the timer, as it was going to run away. Barry pulled a chair from the table and seated himself, watching Hal glance between the oven and the timer, outright admiring him in his clothing and the way his hair is styled. The shower felt like it melted a ton of butter off his shoulders since he didn’t hide the fact he was bluntly staring at the brunette, granted, Hal wasn’t paying attention to him, so he wasn’t too self-conscious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as the timer rang, Barry’s eyes went to the oven door, which was promptly opened with oven mitts, and right before Hal could push the pan into the heat, the heatwave collided against him, making him swear and quickly shove the pan in, and pulled out the roast. Barry chuckled once Hal had the oven door closed, and the brunette joined in with the laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “I forgot that happens.” Hal cackled, “That was...was intense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry’s laughter died down, but his grin didn’t go away, “Make sure to set the timer again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit!” Hal flipped around, throwing his mitts off, and spun the dial.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry moved the roast to a plate, then pulled out a skillet from a cabinet and poured the fat into it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’re you doing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Making au jus.” Barry drew four beef broth containers from a cupboard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal raised his brow but didn’t ask about it any further, trusting Barry and his cooking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After adding a few spoonfuls of flour he retrieved from a higher cabinet and mixed for a couple of minutes, he emptied the beef broth containers into the skillet and continued stirring. Reducing the fire and let it simmer after a moment, but not without having a small taste test.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm…” Barry hummed in satisfaction, making Hal quirk his head. Barry dipped the spoon in the mixture once more, blowing away the steam, and offered Hal to taste, which he eagerly did. Lapping at the taste on his lips, he soon nodded in agreement over Barry’s previous hums. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that supposed to be a sauce?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep, drizzle it over the meat, and it’ll taste amazing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The words made Hal’s stomach grumble. They were both hungry, but this time being spent together was comforting. They both knew they could fall back on each other, but they also treated each other like friends. Sure, the rest of the Justice League is close, but it’s more like working in a group project while working with the Justice League. They have to inform each other honestly; Hal’s like a friend he made along the way, who he eventually hangs out with even when they aren’t with the other members. At least that was only for Barry; he wasn’t sure if Hal felt the same. He knows the Green Lanterns – especially with the Guy, John, and Kyle – they’re like family to him, he talks highly of them even if sometimes he teases and mocks them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lately, though, there’s been this ache in his chest. It was there even before Hal was announced dead, but he assumed he got caught up with the feeling and Hal always coming back that when he heard Hal wasn’t going to come back suddenly, his brain short-circuited. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay?” Hal snapped him back to the present. Blinking a few times, Barry stopped mixing for a second, noticing the side of his palm was resting against the edge of the skillet. Picking up his hand, Barry propped the spoon up on the skillet leading it to the counter, then shook out his hand before rubbing at his heat resilient skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Barry nodded, turning and crouching to find a lid for the simmering sauce. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the lid was placed back on, Hal offered them hanging at the dining table instead of the kitchen, but Barry knew it was to keep either of them from accidentally hurting themselves. Nevertheless, Barry admits, it’s better anyway. The kitchen was hot, the breeze from the open window didn’t reach the kitchen all too well, but the dining table was placed in the line of where the wind hit strongest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There, Hal immediately went to pick up a subject to talk about. It kept Barry’s mind from wandering, so he was grateful for Hal’s talent for basically being able to talk about nothing and somehow made it into a two-way conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Time passed quickly with pointless conversation, and before they knew it, only a few minutes were left to tick down for the vegetables to leave the oven and be served on a plate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s stupid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know! But it’s what they said!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Barry shook his head, “No, I refuse to believe that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They–” Hal snorted, “They literally camped on the enemy territory and thought they were safe!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I heard you!” Barry chuckled as he placed down his glass of water, letting an amused smile playing on his face “Green Lanterns…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal’s giggles burst into a full-on laugh, “They thought, they really did think–” he wheezed, clutching his stomach, “They were in their uniforms too, I--I–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I swear, there's only one brain cell shared between all the Green Lanterns.” Barry snickered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal hit his fist against the table, “No--no, but you, it--you didn’t hear the best part!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it gets better…” Barry rolled his eyes, “What? They got caught?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“nO–!” Hal gasped, “They--they got away with it--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god…” Barry scoffed, pressing the fingertips to his forehead, “Are you serious?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They got ambushed but--but they won!” Hal was panting by this time, wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye, he sniffed, trying to get himself to settle down, “They got ambushed by thirty guards, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry tried to keep his face straight, but he managed a snort from his nose, making him cover the bottom half of his face with his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The guards,” Hal breathed out a chuckled, “they got tangled in the tents, and the Green Lanterns weren’t in the tents yet, so they just scooped them up and tied them up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess the brawn makes up for the brains.” Barry smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I–” the timer interrupted Hal’s sentence, getting both of them to their feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rummaging around, Barry set out two plates and went to set out the utensils. Hal wrench the pan of vegetables from the oven, smelling the scent it produced, then smiling happily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two shortly got the food onto their respective plates and started feasting. As Barry was pouring some cups of water for both of them, he glanced at Hal. There was a content grin on his face as he chewed away at his food. He’s never seen Hal smile so much over some food, but he guessed it was because it was the first homemade dinner he’s had in a long time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This...gravy-thing, is so good!” Hal complimented, pointing to the au jus dripping from his vegetables with the prongs of his fork, as Barry placed their waters down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry shrugged, “Can’t really mess up meat sauces too badly.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal nodded, going back to eating when he gasped and jumped from his seat. Barry watched as he ran around the kitchen, looking through cabinets until he found the lighter. Flicking it on a few times, Hal ran to the table and lit the lavender-lemon candle they still had sitting on the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Racing back to the kitchen, Hal stored the lighter back in its original place before dimming the lights, his face beaming once he returned to the dining table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now it’s a fancy dinner,” Hal said with partial elegance, going back to eating, or at least trying to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The candlelight wasn’t all too bright enough to tell the asparagus from the green beans, but they were both still capable of eating, so they continued munching away at their full plates. They ate quietly. Occasionally, one of them would lightly kick the other, making both of them retreat their legs back to the fronts of their chairs, causing them to frequently giggle while they ate like two boys on a playdate together. But other than that, it was rather silent, save for some chewing noises.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every-so-often, Barry would look up and simply watch Hal devour his food. There was a moment in the night when Barry pulled his elbow on the tabletop to rest his face in his hand, as he gazed at Hal’s chewing shadowy form. The unannounced thought of feeling as though they were on a date invaded Barry’s head, that was when Hal decided to glance up, finding Barry with wide eyes and his face resting in his palm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You alright?” Hal questioned with a slightly amused laugh behind his words as he tried swallowing down his mouthful of food.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moving his face behind his wrist, Barry shifted his eyes to look down at his own food, like he was trying to play off his staring, “Yeah, fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s been two weeks since Hal’s moved in, but it felt like Hal’s been living with him for forever. Not in a bad way, Hal just has a certain attitude he expresses to make it seem like Barry’s home is his own house and keeps it the way he would with his own house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just this morning, Barry got up and didn’t find Hal making coffee in the kitchen, which he’s taken up as a role ever since he’s stayed over. Then Barry hears the washing machine startup, and when he turns the corner, he finds Hal leaving the laundry room, dusting his hands off, with nothing but underwear covering his junk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry then proceeded to squeak like a mouse, as if he’s never seen anyone in less than a shirt and pants. It was embarrassing for both of them at that instant, but by the time lunch rolled around, Barry was informed by Patty with a phone call that she “saw a suspicious man wandering around your car, you needa come down right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It turns out the “suspicious man” was Hal peering around in Barry’s car to make sure it was Barry’s car and – apparently – shamelessly checking if his hair was messed up since he had to fly to Central from Coast City to ask Barry if he wanted to join him for lunch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry rolled his eyes at the first part but gladly agreed to the latter. Hal flew them to a nearby Big Belly Burger, saying he was going to order something for himself when Barry declined his question of if he wanted anything since he already packed his own lunch. However, once Hal started sharing his large portion of fries with the speedster, Barry practically inhaled it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Barry finished his fries, Hal whipped out another burger from his bag. He threw it over to Barry, causing him to fumble with catching it, bashfully unwrapping the sandwich and taking a bite, periodically turning his face away from Hal whenever he took a bite or chewed. Whenever he did, he’d see Hal with a cunning smirk on his face before starting up the conversion again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s up with this string?” Hal inquired out of the blue, going to touch at the red string wrapped around his ring finger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry froze, he didn’t know Hal saw the string too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>During the time between Hal transforming into Parallax up until now, people didn’t seem to see the string. He’s even asked Bruce if he could help him cut it off his finger, but Bruce only gave him and his finger a blank stare before asking what he was talking about. The string doesn’t seem to care about people either; it’d just carelessly go through human bodies, sometimes even certain types of furniture, and stretches ridiculously long distances, like from Earth to Oa. Barry never brought it up with Hal because he didn’t think he could see it, and besides, it wasn’t like it was a threat or a significant inconvenience, so he had no reason to address it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just wondered why it took Hal this long to address the string if he’s seen it as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking down at the string, Barry wiggled his ring finger, where the red line tied itself to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what it’s for.” Barry wiped his hands on the napkin on his burger wrapper, “I think I got it when I tried saving you from the other universe, but I’m not sure why it never went away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal looked up with absolute awestruck eyes, “You can see the--this string?” He pointed to the string on his left hand, where the rope was also tied around his ring finger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s red, right?” Barry’s tone was getting more excited by the second. He’s never got to thoroughly discuss with anyone about the string since they couldn’t see it anymore than they could see Diana’s jet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” Hal exclaimed a bit too loudly, making the couple a few tables away turn and stare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry apologetically smiled back at them, which got them to go back to themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, it’s just--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, no one else can see it, I couldn’t get a lot of information off of anyone other than ‘maybe it’s some other universe magic,’ but that’s it. I didn’t know you could see it either.” Barry explained, curling the sting around his fingers and letting it bounce loose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>couldn’t see it! At first, I asked J’onn, then I asked Clark, then the Guardians and some Green Lanterns, but no one could see it, so I just thought you couldn’t.” Hal balled his hand into a fist, feeling at the bow right above his knuckle, “I couldn’t snap it or anything either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s weird, it goes through people and shrinks when you’re close but extends when you’re far away, so I’m not even sure if it can even be broken.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you try vibrating out of it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I have.” Barry licked at the corners of his lips, “It just holds on like…” he twiddled with the string for a second, trying to find his words, “Like, you know how I can carry you while I run and you don’t get your neck snapped or limps dislocated?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Hal blinked a few times, then proceeded to move his arms to see if they were still attached to him, “Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can vibrate people through walls too if I concentrate really hard, I think it’s because I extend a small portion of the Speedforce – temporarily – to people who I’m touching.” twisting the string between his fingers, Barry tried remembering what his hypothesis was, “But--...” he stopped for a moment, trying to recollect his thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Okay, so--I can vibrate myself out of things even if they’re touching me. Like when someone’s restraining me, or clothes, or my suit, because I concentrate on vibrating out of that thing specifically. So I think I can control whether or not the Speedforce can get to something or not, but no matter how hard I concentrate on this string, it won’t come off. I even tried with a regular string, and I could manage perfectly, but either this string is transcending the Speedforce, or it’s part of the Speedforce because I genuinely can't get it off me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal frowned as he curled the string around his fingers, Barry could see gears turning in his head as he tried figuring out a solution.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To be completely honest, Barry didn’t mind it anymore. He could use it to find Hal, especially since Hal’s mostly on Earth right now, Barry doesn’t have to wait so long to see him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, it’s not endangering us…” Barry picked up his burger, “I don’t think you should stress too much about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal skewed his frown, his expression looking unsure, and Barry thought he was still thinking of a way to remove it, but then his posture relaxed out in his booth. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Three weeks have passed, this was the only time Barry’s been marking down the days on his calendar and knowing what the day, week, and year it was as time flew by. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Today was one of his off days, so he slept in a bit. When he exited his room, he knew Hal had already left for work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Usually, Barry would “work” on his off days, mostly just checking over paperwork and preparing for an upcoming court date. But today, he decided to stay in. Although, not entirely, the speedster knew he had to Flash all days of the week. Still, the urge of wanting to bake something had been slowly eating at him for some time. He always waved it off, but seeing it as it’s his off day, maybe he could take some time for himself and do something he wants to do. Of course, he’ll scout the city first, just to make sure everything is peachy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling his cowl up, he raced out into the city. Taking some time to interact with citizens, but it was still morning, so most weren’t attracted to socializing with anyone at the moment. Barry was alright with that; he didn’t want to take up too much time on scouting the city, he was also still a little sleepy anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he got home, he transformed back into Barry Allen. Strolling into his kitchen, all the while humming to himself, he decided to turn on some music to make things a little livelier–since Hal wasn’t around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Picking up his phone, Barry leaned against the counter for a bit as he figured out what song he wanted to play while he went and tried his hand at baking something. He considered himself a better cook than a baker, mostly because he didn’t have a big sweet tooth, nor did he ever have to bake to live. But, he always liked the way it didn’t need his entire focus, as a dish would. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry’s always had a diverse taste of music, even though he usually doesn’t have a lot of time to listen to music. It took a few minutes, but soon he was dancing around the kitchen in his pajamas to some songs, tapping into the Speedforce whenever an upbeat tune came on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spent some time prancing and twirling around in the kitchen before he got back on track. He removed a small notebook from his shirt pocket and went to prep everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reading over his words in his notebook, he went to make the whipped cream. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Combining heavy cream, powdered sugar, and some coffee </span>
  <span>granules, he whipped it into something fluffy with firm peaks. Covering the bowel up, he stored it in the refrigerator, for the time being, licking the cream off of the paddle attachments to clean it off a bit before he threw them into the sink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He first preheated the oven, then placed down a large metal bowl on his counter. Following the directions in his book, he made sure to level his dry ingredients and have the liquids go to the exact line on his measuring cup. He mixed all of them until he achieved a creamy chocolate cake batter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spraying cooking spray into two cake pans, he made sure they were completely greased before dividing the batter between the two pans, then tossing them into the oven.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dropping himself into a chair, exhausted from dancing while baking, he checked the time to see it is nearly lunchtime. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What could he eat?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wandering around, he looked through the pantry and fridge for anything to eat. Grabbing a granola bar, he unwrapped it and took a bite. Chewing thoughtfully as he kept searching for a meal. At last, he decided on mixing several packets of instant noodles into a pot and letting it boil for a minute or two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pouring out his lunch into a bowl, Barry went to add some of some finishing touches before eating. He took his time while he ate, checking the news – both local and international, catching up with Iris as she was on her lunch break, and swaying his head to the light music he still had playing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thirty-five minutes had passed quickly. The speedster was cleaning up around the house when the timer rang. He leisurely made his way towards the kitchen, smelling the scent of chocolate cake in the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling the two pans from the heat, he placed them on the stove. Squatting down to be at eye level at the cake top, he smiled gleefully when he found it had risen beautifully. Barry removed his mitts, taking in the lovely aroma of chocolate, he lingered around, unsure of what to do to wait out the remaining minutes before frosting the cake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, he left the kitchen, going to wander into his room and lay on his bed. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he turned a bit, going to tuck himself under his covers. Yawning, Barry decided maybe a little nap wouldn’t be all that bad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was drowsily woken up by the sound of the front door loudly hitting against the doorframe. Blinking away the sleep in his eyes, Barry remained in bed for a few seconds longer, debating on whether or not he should go check up on that. After a minute, Barry flung his blanket off his body and sliding his feet into his slippers, Barry padded out into the living room. Finding Hal’s body tossed onto the couch – and by the looks of how his entire sofa seemed like it moved a few inches – Barry’d say Hal flung himself into the cushions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hard day?” Barry croaked, his voice hoarse with sleep. He circled the couch to seat himself on the edge of the couch, watching as Hal dragged his face from the cushion and blinked up at the blond.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sudden glimpse of Hal’s eyes took him aback. His eyes were yellow. Not just the white part of his eyes, but the yellow also looked like it was mixing with the brown of his iris’, going towards his pupil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesus,” Barry murmured, “What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal moaned tiredly as an answer before slapping a hand over his face, curling up on himself, and shifting to face the backrest. Scooting closer to him, Barry placed a hand on Hal’s back, trying to offer support, but instantly recoiling back when he just burned the tips of his fingers, the back of Hal’s shirt now has four holes burnt into the fabric where Barry’s fingertips were placed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Knitting his brows, Barry opened his mouth, but nothing came out, so he closed it and tried reeling through his mind as what could’ve happened. Nothing but Parallax ran through his head, and he wasn’t even entirely sure if that was what’s causing everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal?” Barry sternly said, trying to get the brunette to roll around and face him without touching him, “Hal, look at me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pilot grunted, but slowly rolled himself over. His eyes were squeezed tight, and his fists were balled up until his knuckles turned white. He raised his hand to touch at his temple, grumbling about getting out, then went limp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal?” Barry’s voice rose in pitch, “Hal?!” Tapping into the Speedforce, he shook at him, biting back the pain just to pull back and see Hal sluggishly blink, his eyes looking like there were glazed over. “Hal, talk to me. What happened to you today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A stillness washed over them as Barry waited for an answer, Hal lazily blinked a few more times. Barry could tell he took a breath; then he closed his eyes, squeezing them before going limp again, but before Barry could make another move to burn himself, a shudder wracked through Hal’s body, and then his eyes shot open. Yellow eyes darted around the room; the feeling of ‘this wasn’t right’ coiled in Barry’s gut, feeling for both his flash and Blue Lantern ring on his hands. In a bright blue burst, Barry had transformed into his Blue Lantern outfit, keeping wary of Hal’s body language. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, once blue light filled the room, Hal hissed furiously, his fingers digging into the cushions, then went out like a light. Cautiously, Barry crouched down, hovering his hand over Hal’s shoulder, feeling the fiery heat shedding from his limp body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brown-ish yellow eyes shone when they reopened, both glossed over and weak. “Hal…” Barry softly breathed, “Hal, please stay with me.” he bit his lip, wanting so badly to help Hal since he had his hope ring, “Please…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s back, isn’t it?” he whimpered softly, it didn’t come out as a question, but Hal didn’t say it with certainty either. Hal buried his face into the sofa. The only indication Hal was still there was the movement of his breathing. Barry laid his arms in front of himself, wanting to touch and comfort the brunette, but his hand was still injured from the shake. The speedster swallowed hesitantly, replying with, “It is.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence returned; this time, Barry was a bit nervous. He couldn’t heal Hal without getting hurt himself, what was he supposed to do when Parallax finds a way to take over?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glancing to his ring, Barry recalled the tense conversation he had with John. The words were exchanged only to make the air less thick between the two as Barry healed Hal, but he did remember asking John how to call others on his ring, which John quickly enlightened him on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want this…” Hal moaned out, his voice so low and soft, “I don’t--want…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not Parallax, Hal.” the speedster’s smooth came in, just as soft as Hal’s but more reassuring, “You’re stronger than it. It has to manipulate, but you’re in control. It needs you, Hal.” After a beat, Barry added, “You don’t need it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal was shivering at this point, but his body was still scalding. “Barry…” He weakly pleaded, “It’s not...I’m--” he swallowed then opened his mouth to let out short huffs, his body twisting, and his muscles started twitching. The movements reminded the speedster of the tube, and the bubbles, all the dripping blood forcing itself to the front of his brain, the echoes of terrified screams causing Barry to lay his hand against Hal’s arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The heat was still there, but it wasn’t burning his skin. Lifting his hand, Barry looked to his palm, noticing the stinging sensation couldn’t get past his Blue Lantern uniform. With that, Barry tenderly stroked at Hal’s arm, feeling him convulse underneath his touch, a few cries escaping from the brunette.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal pulled his face from the cushion to lay on his cheek, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. “Barry–!” he desperately wailed. Barry pulled Hal close, cradling his head lightly, wiping away the hot tears from Hal’s freckled face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m here.” he cooed, pressing his hand against Hal’s forehead and began his healing process, all the while whispering to Hal. It made the brunette relax, even if it was a little bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal’s breathing was labored, his body trembling and slowly cooking himself alive, at this point. Resisting the urge to become angry, Barry conjured up some ice packs and placed them against Hal’s skin, hoping to cool him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was already doing two things at once, but he was determined to tear Parallax away from Hal, or at least get him to be healthy. Ringing up John for help on the Parallax situation, and J’onn for physical – and perhaps mental – health.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal, John and J’onn are coming over to help,” Barry informed him once his calls were placed, “Stay with me, okay? Stay with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, Hal reached his arm over, twisting it around Barry’s arm to the point where he was hugging it, “I don’t want to leave.” he bleakly stated, squeezing Barry’s arm when his eyes crammed shut and his breathing became quick gasps, “But...but...it’s--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again, his eyelids flew open, his eyes filled with awareness, unlike what Hal had a few seconds ago, but what it had in alertness, it lacked in life. That was when Barry knew Parallax took over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clutching onto whatever he could get a grip on Hal’s body, he forced Parallax to stay in place, hoping the healing was hurting him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get out of Hal,” Barry growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes flickered onto Barry; a sly grin growing on Hal's face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I am Hal."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” he shouted, pressing his healing deeper into Hal’s forehead, “You aren’t Hal! Stop pretending you are!” Its smile started wavering, it wasn’t fighting against Barry either, but the speedster could see Parallax and Hal fighting against who got the reins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal,” Barry whispered, “Hal, come back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After several moments of Hal going through a range of emotions, the words, “I’m… I’m here.” were panted out, his voice raspy and fluctuating, but it was Hal’s. “Please…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal, what do you need?” Barry’s heart began rapidly drumming in his chest, scared with how shaky and frail it sounded, “What do you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hal’s chest rose and flattened a few times before his body went lax.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hal?” Barry shook at the Lantern, “Hal?! Please, you need to fight him! Please!” Placing his fingers on his neck, Barry tried feeling for a pulse, he found one, but it was slow. Incredibly slow. Too slow for his blood to be circulating correctly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry felt his heart pound against his ribcage. Thoughts whirled around his head; he caught a memory with Jay, where he was being lectured about first aid. “Make sure they don’t have any injuries. Then lay them on their back and lift their leg above their heart, so the blood in their leg goes to their heart, and once they return to consciousness, help them get up slowly, so the blood doesn’t rush downward.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling his hands away from healing, the speedster quickly undid Hal’s belt and steadily heaved Hal’s leg up from the couch. Straightening out his knee, Barry kept glancing between Hal and his leg. His chest was heaving, feeling something drip off his face, but racked it up to sweat. Barry placed two fingers on Hal’s neck to check his pulse. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t getting any better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt another pair of hands beside his own. Looking up from Hal’s face, Barry caught J’onn’s red eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is his pulse?” the alien asked, his voice much calmer than how Barry felt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh–It’s--It’s slow.” was all Barry could get out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>J’onn placed his fingers against Hal’s wrist, waited a few seconds, then reported back it was beating less than twenty beats per minute, causing Barry to silently curse under his breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t working!” Barry cried, making J’onn give a curt nod to, which didn’t make Barry anymore confident.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get him to the medical bay,” J’onn said, looking to Barry as if asking if he should carry Hal to the Watchtower.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barry nodded, watching as J’onn lifted Hal into his arms and phased through his house walls. Sniffing a few times, he tried collecting his bearings, noticing he’d been crying. Wiping away his tears, Barry sniffed once more before vibrating out his house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Swallowing back the layer of mucus buildup in his throat, Barry took off from the ground. He had only noticed a green light approaching his house when he decided to look back. Doubling back, Barry informed John on what was going on, and the two Lanterns began making their way towards the Watchtower.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They flew in silence, Barry’s mind feeling like a tornado had just hit, and everything was thrown and scattered. He could feel himself sweat under his Blue Lantern cowl, causing a slight headache. Touching at his temple, Barry sighed defeatedly, trying to keep his mind on the cold air hitting the exposed part of his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s when he noticed the feeling of pressure around his finger. Pulling his hand away from his head, he saw the red string shining a ruby light. The rope wasn’t going in the same direction as Hal’s body, either. It was waving around violently as if someone was thrashing it around on the other side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, the other side was Hal’s body, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Barry?” John’s voice broke him from his thoughts, realizing he had suddenly halted in the middle of the atmosphere. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“John, I--” his eyes were kept on the extended glowing string, an overwhelming impulse to just follow the swaying light, “I’ll meet you in the med-bay, I need to do something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without another word, Barry tapped into the Speedforce and followed the string. Letting the pressure of the string increase slowly each millisecond he got closer to the other side. The string began descending at a full-tilt as if the other end was falling to Earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Disabling his flight, he pulled his arms to his side and his legs together, the air around his form whipping around as his falling speed accelerated. His Speedforce letting him push past terminal velocity and see the ground, where the other end of the string had landed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ground was getting closer, details getting more apparent. Taking a deep breath to calm his anxiety shouting at the back of his head, he started spreading his limbs, his eyes flashing towards his ring, as he imagined himself being lighter, forcing his ring to make him fly. The directions John had told him to take while flying circling his head, a part of him wanting to close his eyes, anticipating his inevitable crash. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But his eyes were kept open, his mind trying to think straight. Gradually, he started floating, his body slowing down as he twisted to be able to land on his feet. Gracefully coming to a halt nearly inches off the ground, Barry let himself fall the few inches. Once his feet hit the ground, he used his pumping adrenaline he broke into a full sprint towards the direction of the string, seeing a bow lying on the side of a road come into his sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowing down his pace, Barry came to a slight jog when he was a few feet from the bow. Approaching it, Barry squatted down, looking at it attentively. It looked just as it did on his finger, except it was a bit dirty, the string even looked like it circled a finger before it made itself into a bow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reaching out to pick it up, his fingers looped around one of the hoops. Plucking it from the ground, he brought it closer to inspect. Placing it against his red bow to see it was practically identical, only noticing the world was quickly vanishing into white light a few seconds before it incased his vision. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Tomorrow's chapter is also going to a bit longer as well. Not as long as this one but, longer than what I usually write.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Trading Souls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>D6) Soulmates</p>
<p>Maybe it's not healthy to travel between two dimensions and just let things happen to you and do nothing about it.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*Sprinkles Birdflash in Halbarry week* I am weak and have no ideas but also want them to pine longer because I'm horrible.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Blinking open his eyes, he felt like he just got blinded, but when the soft, colorful lights shone dimly. It felt like he was floating in the middle of an aurora borealis, the delicate shades floated in streaks and managed to blend in with each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Continuing to gape at the scenery, Barry turned around, spotting a vibrant, glowing figure standing in front of a gleaming yellow version of itself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The feeling that he knew who they were pulled at Barry’s gut, getting him to float closer. The two seemed like they were having a standoff, the few facial features they had narrowed at each other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal?” Barry echoed out, the place causing his voice to bounce around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two didn’t seem to hear him, though. Instead, the yellow let out a burst of energy and made a rush towards the one with multiple colors. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The wave of light the two made by colliding with each other caused Barry to shield his eyes, not wanting actually to get blinded this time. Once the ripple was over, Barry peered from behind his arm, watching as the light of the colorful form fell to their knees, racing to catch Hal before he could land on the cloudy ground beneath their feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry hoisted him until he was in a sitting position, bracing his back for him to lean backward into by wrapping his glowing arm around Hal’s form.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you feel okay?” he let his voice be somewhat calm, but his mind was racing, unsure of what just happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal rocked back and forth a few times before collapsing into Barry’s...body? It didn’t feel like his body. It didn’t have the same weight. It was also glowing much more than he typically shone, that is to say if he's ever normally radiated light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pulling Hal to lay in his lap, Barry found his rings had disappeared from his fingers. That could probably be because he had just blacked out and woke up somewhere he wasn’t in before. His rings would’ve been the first thing he’d want to figure out if it weren’t for the fact that he and Hal were both illuminating different colors even without powers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Running his hand over Hal’s arm, tiny sparks flew over where he touched, but they didn’t feel painful, and Hal’s lack of reaction told Barry it didn’t hurt him either. Barry sighed quietly, feeling Hal’s chest rise and fall against his thighs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal’s colors were a bit clouded and muddied, but certain parts of his body could still be distinguished. His body was like a dull rainbow with flakes of silver and bronze floating around in a bunch of multicolored fog patches, though, a particular yellow haze of smoke seemed to be swirling around his translucent body clearer than any other color. The yellow roiled in his chest before distributing over his limbs, that’s when his body began evening out. Hal groggily raised his head from Barry’s lap when the yellow swam around in his head for a bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Feeling okay?” Barry asked again, a small smile inching into his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal groaned, holding his head in one hand, he pushed against the ground to sit back up, with his other hand. Through his expression, Barry could see the green and yellow clash against each other, one of the colors wanting to take over the other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Knitting his brows, Barry gazed at the rest of Hal’s body. The yellow in the rest of his body mixed nicely with the other colors just as well as the lights in the sky, it was only in his head that the colors battled. They didn’t mix into new shades, nor did they want to get along, causing Hal to topple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tugging Hal towards his body once more, he let Hal sit against him. Trying to soothe him so his colors could mix, they still refused to make peace with one another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal, you have to let them mix,” Barry said out loud, making the other look to him, with confusion. Right, he couldn’t see himself. “You’re fighting against something. You have to stop.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that, a new color emerged between the yellow and green, red. It surrounded the two colors, entangling them and consuming them. Hal’s expression became frustrated, his fists balling, and his shoulders tensing up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you want me to do?” Hal barked, “ Fight it or–” Doubling over, and he clutched at his head. Green and yellow overpowering the red, the two clouds pushed against the inside of his head, both fighting for dominance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yellow. Yellow and Green. The emotional spectrum. Fear and willpower are enemies, but then how come the rest of his body embrace fear? This was only going on in his mind, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Realization struck him. His mind won’t let him welcome fear. Of course, the rest of his body accepts fear, it was part of nature, but his mind was taught to fight against it. But then did that mean Parallax was taking over him? Was the yellow Parallax?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His question was quickly answered when Hal dropped to his hands, the cloud of yellow pushing out of his body through his face. The figure was the same as the one that had sped towards Hal, it was Hal, but glowing yellow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought we made a deal!” he boomed, his voice thundering with the echo, “Why do you have to fight me? I’m YOU!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry helped the colorful version up, wincing a bit when Hal made a motion to pull away from Barry’s help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You--You </span>
  <em>
    <span>aren’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>me! Stop pretending to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Hal panted, pushing himself up to his feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blinking for a second, Barry’s memory of himself saying that to Hal when they were still in his living room made him grimace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t even listen to yourself!” the other Hal huffed, his voice sharper than the Hal beside Barry. “I can give you whatever you want. I can show you how to live! You just have to accept me! Why can’t you do that?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You give me NOTHING!” Hal spat back, “You only gave me a reason to be scared!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you think being reckless is everything?” he bitterly laughed, “Having fear as intense as yours isn’t something you should ignore!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not--not ignoring–” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not ignoring me?!” he rasped, his tone mocking, “You never even gave me a choice!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve given you a choice before!” Hal’s voice had come on strong, “I’ve given you multiple choices! You fucked up every single one of them!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The yellow form tightens his fists, his stance ready to attack at any time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I still sit behind you!” the colorful Hal shouted, “And you know that!” he pointed accusingly at his yellow self, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> still drive me when you shouldn’t!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This time, his yellow self smirked wickedly. His fists uncurling before he took off from his spot and started circling Barry’s form. He stiffened when Hal placed his hands on his shoulders from behind. “You mean with Barry?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Hal across from him stilled, his eyes looking like a deer caught in the headlights, but he didn’t answer. Barry locked eyes with Hal, a look of guilt crossing over Hal’s face as his jaw squared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell him,” his yellow version dared, “If you don’t need me, tell him how he makes you feel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “I–….” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go on,” he hissed, “Since I give you nothing. Since you keep ignoring me; since you want to choose for yourself without my help. Tell him. I won’t intervene.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry bit his lip, unsure of what to do with himself. Breaking their eye-contact, Barry narrowed his eyes at the Hal behind him, discovering he was steadily getting sucked back into Hal’s colorful form. Following the trail of yellow fog with his eyes, Hal’s color-filled body began crouching to sit back down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrenching himself from Hal’s fear’s grip, Barry zipped to Hal’s side, but Hal pushed him away again. Instead, curling up on himself until his fear was absorbed back into his body. Barry knew he didn’t want him around; he knew Hal would much rather deal with his fear alone, especially since Barry was something that fueled his fear. But Barry couldn’t leave, he didn’t know where to go, this place just stretched endlessly onward in all directions, and Barry didn’t want to go looking around and lose Hal to the lights.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seating himself on the floor of where he was standing, Barry watched as Hal buried his face into his knees, his arms wrapping around his legs to keep them together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Knitting his brows, Barry let Hal take his time. He knew this was going to put a strain on their friendship if Hal was this unwilling to admit to Barry about something. It hurt to know that, but he also knew some things were better left unspoken, at least at the moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So the fear wasn't Parallax, it’s just...Hal?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Was that why none of the symptoms Barry saw on his couch any of the symptoms Parallax had shown?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yellow eyes? Parallax never had that when it invaded Hal's body, just a yellow spark. It wasn't keen on hurting Barry either, just Hal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure how long it had been, the place was like being out in space. Time wasn’t a thing. But he soon noticed a red string was growing out from the ground, the same string that was no longer wrapped around his ring finger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gently picking at it, he twisted it between his fingers. Looking at Hal, he realized they both lost the string attached to their fingers. How curious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glancing back to the string in the ground, he found it had begun wrapping itself around his finger. It split itself in half and began growing towards Hal, pulling that half towards him, he didn’t want it pestering at Hal. Still, it continued growing and splitting, determined to make it to Hal’s form.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, Barry let it go whatever it wanted to do, giving a warning to Hal of what it was doing, but Hal didn’t react. Barry frowned worriedly, going back to looking at his half of the string growing around him. It twisted and climbed into his arm, over his shoulder, then crawling towards his chest. Once it made it to his chest, it wrapped itself around a glowing ball inside his chest cavity. Barry’s light started dimming; he began feeling tired. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal…” Barry drowsily breathed out past his lips, his energy feeling like it was being drained from his body, “Hal it’s…” Letting out a yawn, Barry laid himself on the floor, resting his head, the cloud the ground made of drew him deeper into unconsciousness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before his body could give away to the exhaustion, he saw Hal look up from his knees, his eyes wandering around for a bit before he saw Barry on the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Barry?” Hal’s voice was tinged with alarm. Pushing himself to be on all fours, Hal crawled over to Barry as his eyelids gave way. “Barry?” Hal’s voice could still be heard; it was panicked. Hal’s hands went to shake his body but to no avail. Barry wanted desperately to tell him he was fine, and that he’d wake up soon, but the feeling of tiredness was overwhelming. All he could do was move his hand, placing it against what Barry assumed was Hal’s thigh, trying to reassure him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Waking up from the white light, Barry slowly opened his eyes. Turning his head, he ended up twisting his whole body, coming face to face with himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jerking back, Barry blinked at his body. It looked like it was sleeping soundly, other than it being positioned a little awkwardly, he looked like he was getting some sleep. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His body didn’t look harmed, other than the burnt hand he had when he tried touching Hal, but he didn’t look like he should be in the med-bay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What the fuck was happening?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking to his hands – or where they should be. Trying to look down at himself, he couldn’t see a body connected to where he was looking, only the body on the bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of footsteps drew him to point his vision to the entrance of the med-bay. J’onn was holding a clipboard, looking over a few papers before stopping in his tracks. Dropping the clipboard, the alien rushed beside Barry’s bed, his eyes wide in horror. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Floating around J’onn, Barry tried getting his attention, but J’onn’s eyes went past Barry’s current state and went to touch the body on the bed. The alien then felt at Hal’s body in the neighboring bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry tried making a sound, but without a body, he had nothing to work with. He felt terrible. He wasn’t dead. He was still alive. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t want J’onn to worry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was fine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glancing around, he saw Hal’s body. It was also lying lifeless on the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sudden emptiness of the room hit him. He could flawlessly hear the sound of J’onn’s footsteps and his panicked state, but he couldn’t hear a single heart monitor machine. But, he could see a heart monitor attached to his body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He can’t be dead. How could’ve he died? Nothing happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did he hit the ground too hard? No, he landed on his feet, he remembered touching the ground with his feet, then running the rest of the way to pick up the bow on the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be dead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Flying in front of J’onn, he watched as the alien looked between Hal’s and his body, the look of sorrow filling his eyes. Trying his best, Barry tried kicking and screaming, doing anything to try and gain attention, but J’onn just turned away. Hastily making his way towards a cabinet in the corner of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Spinning to look at his body, he barreled towards it, wanting so badly for his consciousness to connect back into his body, hoping if he hit his body hard enough, he’d be able to be alive again. Of course, it didn’t work. He simply phased through his body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking back to himself, he would curse at himself if he could. Glancing around the room, he wondered what he could do. He had to wake up. He wasn’t dead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t have any limbs, no voice, nothing but his ability to be aware. The feeling of helplessness began creeping in when he started realizing he couldn’t do anything. He lost his speed; he didn’t have his body; he had nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, the sound of a heart monitor started to pick back up slicing against the silence that had enwrapped the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>J’onn’s footsteps in the corner stopped, spinning around so fast Barry swore he could’ve gotten whiplash if he were human.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Swiveling around to look at where J’onn’s eyes were pointed, he witnessed Hal’s chest start to raise briefly, Hal’s heart beating at breakneck speed for several seconds. Floating to Hal’s side, Barry was powerless in the state he was in, only able to look upon the events being carried out with anxiety brimming somewhere in his consciousness. Luckily, J’onn appeared beside Hal’s bed, pushing against Hal’s chest firmly in a constant tempo to help Hal get air back into his body. Fortunately, Hal’s heart began evening out gradually, the heart monitor’s line becoming steady.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it sounded like background noise once Hal had launched forward, freezing up before being a gagging noise and blowing chunks to the side of his bed. The tubes and needles restricting his ability to maneuver any farther away from the bed, causing the front of him – not facing J’onn’s body – to be covered in the food inside the pouches they fed unconscious leaguers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Coughing up the contents of his stomach, Hal spat the rest out. Panting a few times before swallowing, then regretting the decision, which–Barry could only assume–was because of the lingering barf taste in his mouth, causing him to gag loudly. His hand coming up to cover at his nose and mouth, his blinking rapid, then ceasing when he closed them peacefully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal.” J’onn’s voice quipped up, “Hal, can you hear me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal gave a soft “mhm” from behind his hand, his eyes still closed, and his chest was still fighting to breathe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to need you to get up from the bed.” J’onn stated, gently pulling Hal from the side of the bed doused in puke, “Can you do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal groaned weakly, squeezing his eyes together, he opened them back up and blinked a few times, then said in a more defeated tone, “Yeah…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>J’onn nodded, tugging lightly at Hal’s arm to get him to inch off the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once Hal was sitting on the edge of the bed, the sound of the door shutting closed snapped Barry to look to the entrance, but then quickly looked back to J’onn and Hal. Where the alien was telling the brunette, he had to change into another gown while he was pulling out his tubes and removing the IV in his arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once that was done, J’onn helped him to his feet, hesitantly letting go of Hal after a few seconds, telling him he’ll get the gown and a towel, and “if your limbs start getting numb or weak tell me </span>
  <em>
    <span>immediately</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal nodded at the instructions before J’onn went to a cabinet across the room to rummage around in. Barry turned back to Hal, who was already shedding off his gown, wiping off his barf from his leg with the dirtied piece of clothing. Barry had a back view of Hal’s nude body. The feeling of embarrassment hitting him, causing him to spin around, feeling awkward if he ever got to see his best friend naked non-consensually. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Going to look at his own body, he wondered if he’ll ever get to be back in it again. Hal was…lifeless…as well, right? Then he woke up. Maybe Barry could wake up too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry heard the moment when J’onn had given Hal his gown. Then he went to clear a bed for Hal. There were a few rustling noises behind him before it stopped before rustling a few more times.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Barry?” Hal’s voice spoke up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry looked up from himself, turning to see Hal looking directly at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Moving away from his body, Barry anticipated for some reaction, but there was none. Barry stared at Hal, watching as his eyes darted from his body and to Barry’s consciousness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Could he see him? He made it seem like he could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Flying to the side a bit, Hal’s eyes followed him. A light of excitement rocketed in him. Breezing towards Hal, Barry circled Hal’s form multiple times to show his enthusiasm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Barry?” Hal followed Barry’s awareness with his eyes, occasionally glancing towards Barry’s lifeless body, “Barry…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘Yes! Yes! It’s me!’ Barry managed to push out, surprising even himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why’re--You’re so small, and glowy.” Hal reached a finger to touch Barry's sentience, “Was that what I looked like a few moments ago?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry halted, letting Hal poke at him. He couldn’t feel it, but he allowed him to do it anyway. ‘I don’t know, I feel like a ghost.’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I felt like that. But then…” Hal thought, “Uhm… Then I started falling.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘Falling?’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yea–”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal, are you feeling alright?” J’onn’s voice came from the other bed, causing them both to turn and look. Of course, since J’onn couldn’t see Barry, he’d naturally think Hal was losing his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah, it’s just--” Hal stammered, looking at Barry's glowing form, “Well, it’s hard to explain. Barry’s here, just not in his body.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>J’onn raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head in confusion, but made no move to call him out on his insanity just yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not...not entirely sure what’s going on, but…” Hal paused; he couldn’t add anything else to that. That was just it. They didn’t understand what was going on. These things were just consequences for some stuff they’ve done. Opening his mouth again, he took a deep breath, trying to piece everything together, but nothing was making sense. “Uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hal, I think you may need some rest.” J’onn notified as he made his way over to Hal, gently leading Hal to the bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m entirely sane, J’onn.” Hal assured, “It’s just--things have been happening with no explanation.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, that tends to happen a lot,” J’onn answered, his tone knowing and constant, making Hal feel as though he actually did believe Barry wasn’t dead, “Rest now. Perhaps your thoughts will be clearer later on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about Barry?” Hal pointed to Barry’s body on the bed, still and motionless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>J’onn gazed towards it, his face serious. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Worry dripped into Barry, slowly floating over to be just above Hal’s shoulder. He was scared J’onn might just give up on him. Hal would never give on him, right? He’d fight to keep Barry alive, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, can he come back alive?” J’onn asked, his expression unwavering and his tone stable, “If he can, then I can make sure his body is warm enough to inhabit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal blankly stared at Barry’s body, his eyes soon moving to Barry perched on his shoulder. They didn’t know. Hal could’ve just gotten lucky and was able to retrieve his body back. They weren’t sure if the same thing could be said for Barry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, we’re not sure...” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barry floated around Hal as he fell asleep, his body was untroubled, much more than Barry could say for himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Worry crept into his mind like an unwelcome insect crawling into a house. As time went on, he kept telling himself he was going to be back in his body soon, but each second that passed, he felt like he missed the bus to be able to be back in his body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Waiting and waiting, Barry wondered if he’ll ever be back in his body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking over to his form, J’onn had placed heating pads over it, hoping to temporarily keep it warm until Barry could come back to life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, a feeling of emptiness overcame him. The feeling opening an endless pit below him, he fell backward, falling, falling so fast he could barely even see the white of the med-bay a few seconds into the hole. He felt more and more hopeless as it consumed him, wrapping around him like a heavy jacket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps this was fate. Maybe this was supposed to happen. Was he supposed to lose hope after all he’s been through? Letting down everyone he once knew and loved?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The thought made him look around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, this couldn’t be his fate. He’s been through so much worse. He can’t give up now, not when he hasn’t written an ending for himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The thought took over, a light glowing and bursting from him. If this place of emptiness couldn’t provide something for him, he’ll make one himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gasping out for air, Barry convulsed wildly, his muscles spasming out of his control, but he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>free</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt a pressure against his chest; at first, he thought it was trying to block him from breathing. But the harder he breathed, the more he realized it wasn’t trying to repress his breathing, it was trying to help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, his hyperventilation caused him to erupt into a fit of coughs. His throat already felt dry, and the coughing just made it sore and more dehydrated. The coughing produced the feeling of acid bubbling at the back of his throat. Pressing his mouth shut, he tried swallowing back the bile. Still, the force of his cough was already on its way, making him grip tighter into the bed sheets as he was pushed into a sitting position and encouraged to empty his stomach into a bucket, which he gladly did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few more convulsions and letting his food get spat back up once more, he blinked open his eyes. His vision was fuzzy. His breathing was labored, his head spinning and aching horribly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Grunting out something he couldn’t even piece together, Barry was delicately pushed back to lean against his pillow that was somehow propped up now. Groaning some more incoherent nonsense, he heard a soothing voice come from the dizziness and pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, I know, just close your eyes.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry’s mind was so disoriented he couldn’t remember who told him those words, but he followed them anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He closed his eyes, letting a hand soothingly slide against his shoulder to smooth them out. Taking in a few deep breaths, Barry’s head fell to his shoulder. Feeling a pillow being placed underneath his head, he didn’t fight back against the tiredness that was pulling at him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Things were mundane. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, as mundane as it gets when you’re a part-time civilian and all-time hero. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had cake, yet he didn’t have anyone to eat it with. Metaphorically and literally. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal had already left when Barry had woken up in the med-bay, back in his body. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>J’onn informed him the Guardians told him to come back. With a little more investigation by talking to Ollie, who was around when Hal had left for Oa, he was accompanied by Kyle and John. Ollie didn’t give him too much information, just that he was in a rush with his fellow Lanterns.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No one else was around to see Hal’s departure from the Watchtower. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry eyed his calendar, looking at all the dates marked with a red ‘X’. J’onn had said he’d been in the med-bay for two days and tuning back into his job, his coworkers also offhandedly mentioned he was gone for two days. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So did the Guardians not know how long a month was, or did they just decide to take Hal and try to heal him themselves?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Parallax wasn’t a part of Hal anymore. How could they heal him when all Hal had to do was just embrace a bit of fear into his mind?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The date Hal was supposed to be presented back to Oa was circled with red. Hal had gone earlier than he was meant to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Letting out a sigh, Barry returned to his dining table, scoping pieces of cake into his face. At least his cake wasn’t ruined.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Remember back to the cloud and light place. Barry wondered what that was for. The memory was evoked after he had woken up; a few minutes before he found out Hal had left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>tell him how he makes you feel.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry shivered at the words, but a part of him wanted to believe...believe...  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Moving chocolate crumbs glued with coffee whipped cream around, Barry stared down at his plate, his face in his hand with his elbow on the table, just like that one night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He knew what he wanted to believe. The idea of the alternate version kissing him, the quote “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You two really are good for each other.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”, the words “</span>
  <em>
    <span>tell him how he makes you feel.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”, the idea of a dinner date, the way he looked in his clothes, the way he was so considerate enough to buy an extra Burger for Barry, the love ring, even a small part of him wanting to believe the strings had something to do with what </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to believe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he knew. He knew it wasn’t that simple. Hal wasn’t simple. No one was simple, and maybe what he wants to believe is just him wanting to be selfish. So, Barry chalked his pining up to loneliness or, at the least, a silly crush. He hasn’t had anyone to rely on for a while. He’s only really made a handful of real friends he truly trusts with everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeah, maybe he was just lonely... </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ache in his chest came again, but he ignored it. He repressed it. Pushed it down until it sprung back up, the feeling of something cracking and breaking in his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His fingers squeezing at the handle of his fork. The feeling won’t go away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was just how loneliness worked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barry didn’t immediately notice it. He didn’t even know he had it a few until an entire week and a half had passed when Barry was confident Hal wasn’t coming back – or at least to his house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was midnight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry was worn out after a fight with one of the Rogues who decided to set up late at night in the middle of a bank. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He decided to wind down by reading a book. Surprising, he wasn’t notably tired tonight, though that could’ve been the excess adrenaline running in his veins talking. Whatever the reason, after his shower, he picked up one of his many unread books in his bookcase. Most of them still had a bookmark between their pages, marking down the last time Barry had even picked it out of the bunch and read it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Settling into his bed, Barry got comfortable before continuing where he had left off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry liked reading; he did. But reading, in general, was hard for him. Words upon words upon words, just like his documents. Pages stacked onto each other like the evidence for his court cases. The environment was warm, not to mention the book was centered around the world trying to tear two lovers apart as they try being their own person. Just to see that the other didn’t just complete them, but also that they were more powerful together, leading to other problems that they try to overcome. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It made him feel nice, glad the two could work together to overcome obstacles, but it also made him a bit antsy. Wondering what it’d be like to have Hal here, just to lean on and keep the warmth alive with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With all the focus he tried putting onto the pages, he’d contorted himself into some ridiculous positions. This time, however, it wasn’t exceptionally absurd–though it most likely wasn’t healthy either. His posture was his back bent over his book with his left leg pulled up to let his chin rest against something as he read, his blanket covering everything under his waist, not including the text.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He told himself that chapter was going to be the last, just like he did for the previous three chapters. Reading over the final words in that chapter, Barry controlled himself enough not to turn the page. Instead, mark the next section, then closing the book entirely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Letting go of a breath, Barry looked around his room. Reflecting on all the events that had happened between the pages, he pulled his legs from under his blanket to let them get a bit of a breather from beneath the covers before going back down when Barry had to go to sleep. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wiggled them around for some air to get within his toes, that’s when he noticed a flash of pale red on his ankle. Halting his movement, Barry pulled his ankle towards himself. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a bunch of glowing scribbles and dots. Flipping to his other leg, there were some more scribbles and dots.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why did everything have to glow? And why did everything have to be on his body?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, he no longer had a string on his finger, but now he has </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Running his fingers over the markings, he looked to the inside of his ankle, there weren’t any taggings there. A bit irritated, and very tired, he just closed his eyes for a second, wanting nothing more but to be left alone by the universe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t want to deal with this right now. It was too late in the night to care. Maybe he dropped an uncapped permanent marker twice, and it marked up his ankles, somehow. Accepting the thought, he clicked off his lamp and laid his head against his pillows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’ll deal with it later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a couple of minutes, he peeped open one of his eyes, knowing he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dragging himself to sit up, he turned his leg, but couldn’t see the markings. Placing his hand on the area, he couldn’t feel anything either. Flicking on the lights, he looked back to his ankle, finding the imprint was still there, glowing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cupping his hand around the dots and scribbles, he found out his fingers could go over the “light” the markings produced. It wasn’t glowing at all; it was just made to look like it was shining. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, weird. But if that was the case, then it couldn’t be a mistake, could it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Groaning, Barry fell back onto his pillow with a soft thud. The silence wrapped around him as he wondered, his mind slowly giving up as time passed and he didn’t start sleeping. Then, a whisper could be heard. It was soft, and Barry would’ve never heard it if he had still been reading. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He froze, straining to hear the whisper again, but nothing made that noise for the remainder of the night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Must’ve been the wind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slapping his arm over his eyes, he told himself he’d get to those markings later. Now, he just needed sleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Later kept stretching on and on. It wasn’t his fault, either. Barry was working with stupid logic, little to no evidence, and clues leading nowhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt awkward to ask Bruce about it, and even more uncomfortable to show him the markings. Luckily, he could see it – unlike his string. Sadly, Bruce couldn’t tell what it reads or looks like either. He said the red could represent strength, or maybe anger. Honestly, Barry felt like the very opposite of what Bruce had described, but he tried keeping his mind clear to the idea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce opened him up to some ideas, but a lot didn’t make sense. Why would he be romantic? Why would there be star constellations on his ankles? No, Bruce, he didn’t do anything weird, other than the fact that he traveled between two dimensions these past two months.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t getting as far as he wanted, but he knew there was a reason for that. These clues the universe was leaving him felt like a kick in the balls, yet he kept going at it until his brain melts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Going to lay his head down one night, he heard the wind push against his house. It was chilly tonight, so he made sure to curl up with some thick blankets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shut off his lamp, snuggling under the covers that came up to his nose. The soft voice came back; a quick whisper flew through the air. He would’ve thought it was the wind, but he could hear a tone to it. Still, he couldn’t make out the wording.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Turning his lamp back on, he glanced around the room, expecting to spot some villain crouched in the corner. But there was none. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, well, that’s creepy...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His knuckles pressed against his cheekbone, his pen tapped against the desktop, his brain reading over the same words for the passing minute. He had a court case tomorrow, he needed to finish this. Checking the time, he had about an hour to complete before he could get a lunch break, then he’d have to work on the case he got a few hours ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clicking at his pen, he filled a few things out on the document, glancing at his tests for confirmation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Barry, can you stop clicking your pen?” Patty’s voice broke him from concentration.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Barry replied, placing his pen down. Finishing up reading, he picked up his pen, writing a few notes on the case, then signed his name at the bottom, just in time for his lunch break. Well, not only in time, he had a few minutes left, but it was close enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Collecting the papers together, he made sure to place the documents over the test papers, and putting them into a file folder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, a whisper ran through the room. The only thing Barry could make out a ‘wa’ before it echoed out. Lifting his head from the desk, he looked around. Patty was still at her table, hunched over a microscope. The voice was a whisper but was clear, and Barry was confident if he heard it, Patty would’ve heard it as well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking his head, he realized it must’ve just been someone passing. The door was open; maybe someone was whispering something to themselves. Even though he wasn’t close to the door, he waved it off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pulling off his lab coat, he looked to the clock, making sure it was lunchtime, then draping his coat over his chair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You want to join Mark and me for lunch?” Patty asked, tugging on a blazer, “You don’t seem to have that guy to eat with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was true. Hal used to invite him to eat lunch with him at Big Belly Burgers for the two weeks after they found out they both could see their string. It was one of the reasons he used to look forward to lunch and even ate at all, rather than going and working on some more cases. But since Hal wasn’t around anymore, his body had become accustomed to being fed around this time. Still, of course, he didn’t have anyone around to eat with, so usually, he’s just head down to the cafeteria, eat his packed lunch, then go and scout the city for the few minutes left on his lunch break.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah, sure,” Barry answered. He didn’t know Mark that much, other than the fact he worked downstairs and hung out with Patty a lot, but he promised Wally they’d take turns protecting the city now that he also had the title as Flash. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No matter where he was or what he was doing, he couldn’t get away from the whispering. But, the whispering soon turned into a voice, a low, smooth sound in his head. It didn’t sound like his voice at all, which was weird, since it was in his head. Even with an established voice, it didn’t say much. Most of the time, it just pushed out one or – as time went on – two words. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Twiddling with his earpiece, Barry looked to the sky. He wondered to himself if he’d be able to hear that voice again. It liked coming back when it was nighttime, oddly enough, that was also the time when he enjoyed hearing it most. Barry just expects it, he supposes, and unlike the markings on his ankles, it was kind of fun to try and decipher what the voice was trying to use the words in a sentence for.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The voice hasn’t spoken since yesterday; its words were ‘leave you’, there was another word that faded out before he could hear it fully. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tonight was peaceful. The stars twinkled, no floating rings wanting to force themselves onto his fingers, no chaos trying to draw him into another spiral. Barry wished it could stay like this, but he knew that wasn’t how the world worked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wondered what Hal was doing. Maybe tonight wasn’t so peaceful out in space, but was there ever a calm day out in space? Probably not. Barry doubted there would ever be a quiet day on Earth. Calm was relative; some people might think something is relaxing while others might think it’s anxiety-inducing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Letting go of his earpiece, his hand slid from his face to his neck, fingers hooking around his neck to make his arm dangle. His feet scraped along with the roof material as he dragged them around, the breeze hitting nicely without everything blocking it. Inhaling deeply, he could still smell lingering gasoline, the light pollution playing in the sky of Central City. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was calming. This was his city, and his city was safe...for the most part. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of feet lightly hitting against the rooftop from behind him, making him whirl around, his arm dropping from his neck to being bent in an alert stance. Barry was ready for someone ready to attack him, with how light the footsteps sounded, he thought someone was trying to sneak up on him, but a villain was far from who he locked eyes with. “Dick?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry could see his eyes widen underneath his mask, apparently not expecting to see Barry on a rooftop. “Oh,” he uttered. As quick as he spoke, he cleared his voice, regaining his normal volume. “Sorry, I thought Wally was patrolling today.” his hand went to scratch the back of his neck in something between nervousness and embarrassment, “Could he--was he unable to patrol today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, he got called for the night shift,” Barry informed a bit apologetically, “Did you need something? Gotham is a long ways away, what’re you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just visiting,” he smiled politely, something Barry assumes all Waynes has to perfect, but Dick seems to place it on flawlessly. “There are some Titans nearby. I was in the area and decided to drop by to see Wally–” he stopped, his smile dropping a little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something wrong?” he asked, concerned with how quickly his smile fell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dick seemed to notice Barry’s worried tone, causing him to place a grin right back on his face, “I haven’t seen Wally in a while, I was wondering if he’s been doing well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he’s doing fine,” Barry replied. He tried reaching out after he recovered from the med-bay, and Wally instantly picked up, which was a surprise in itself since the red-head would pick up the phone once it was done ringing. Barry had talked to Wally on multiple occasions during the past weeks, they lived in the same city, they’re both the Flash, and they’re practically family, it would be tough to not talk to Wally.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see…” Dick dejectedly sighed, quietly adding, “Well, maybe that’s for the better then.” looking off to the side, Dick’s brows were knitted, his eyes saying otherwise. The two stood in stillness for a few seconds that seemed to stretch on for too long, Barry opened his mouth to say something, but Dick already beat him to it. “I better get back to the Titans then.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Closing his mouth, Barry pressed his mouth into a frown, watching as Dick turned his back to him, ready to jump off and miraculously survive. “Did something happen?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dick stilled, turning around hesitantly. Barry could see the cogs turning in his head, his mind working on whether to lie to him or not. Fully turning around, he anxiously ran a hand through his hair, the blue streak of his costume could be prominently seen moving through his dark hair, reminding Barry of Hal’s ring and how it’d sometimes shine when he pushed his hair back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He hasn’t told you?” it was a question, but he didn’t make it sound like a question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I--I guess not.” Barry’s voice tight now, his mind already jumping to conclusions and going through the stages of grief, when Dick’s worried voice came up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I tell you, can you not tell Wally?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not tell Wally? Was this supposed to be a secret? Was he going to be subjected to a secret held between the two? He wasn’t ready. But, contradicting his thoughts, he nodded, stating a firm “Promise.” when Dick asked him if he was sure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stepping away from the edge, Dick looked around, as if he’d suspect someone of hearing in on them. Moving closer towards Barry, he acted like he was afraid of crossing the speedster’s personal space, for he stopped three feet away from him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uhm… Well--” he let go a breath, and even if Barry couldn't see his eyes, he knew Dick wasn’t exactly looking at him straight on. “I’ve been training the Titans for nearly two months now, and I’d--” he played with his fingers and looked to his feet, “I mean, Wally’s my friend and he--I just wanted to come and visit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Crossing the distance between them, Barry placed his hands on his tense shoulders, causing him to look up at Barry. The speedster realizing how much he’s grown, but offering the gentle, reassuring smile he’d always give to a child who was scared. “Take a deep breath.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was precisely what he did, letting it go, he looked defeated. “I just...I thought you were Wally. I just want to talk to him…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that moment, he felt like he was holding Wally when he came into his life. “What happened?” Barry softly asked, his eyes twinkling with compassion. Feeling the tension easing out of the boy’s shoulders, he still picked at his nails as he frowned down at himself, then giving a short, dry laugh before he swallowed back his words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He--” he started tentatively, “We had been hanging out a lot while I trained the Titans. He’s my friend, of course I’d want to hang out with him, but…” he stopped again before his hands started fiddling with each other once more and he averted his eyes, “...but then one day we were just--we were eating and laughing, then he stopped, and I stopped, and we kinda looked at each other, then we just kinda...we…” A flush spread across his cheeks and he looked embarrassed, “we might’ve kissed…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry was waiting on something else to come up, but it never did. Dick just stood in front of him, a flush covering his face as he nervously squeezed his own fingers. When he realized the story was done, Barry let his hands drop from Dick’s shoulders, making Dick look up to see Barry’s reaction, uneasiness displayed on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what’s the problem?” Barry questioned, a part of him wondering if Dick thought it wasn’t okay to like the same gender. But this was</span>
  <em>
    <span> Dick Grayson</span>
  </em>
  <span>, when it came to sexual orientation, Barry would think he wouldn’t care much for it. Sure, it might be embarrassing to admit to your partner’s uncle that you smooch a little, but it sounded like he was making it a bigger deal than it really was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dick seemed to relax out a little more when Barry replied. Still, it looked as though there were something bothering him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought--I thought it was going okay. I mean, we laughed about it afterward, so he didn’t make it a big deal. But…” There was the word Barry was waiting for. “He began becoming distant. I asked others if he was picking up their phone calls, and he was with them. But, whenever I call him, he won’t talk to me, or he’ll tell me he’s busy.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wally avoiding people? That isn’t exceptionally astonishing. Wally’d sometimes purposefully avoid others if he was frustrated, he knew he scared himself sometimes with how much strength he had and any impulse could be done. Barry doubted he’d avoid Dick, though. Dick was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>last </span>
  </em>
  <span>person Barry would imagine Wally avoiding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dick and Wally always talked things through. It was how they maintained their friendship throughout the years, so how come now? Because of some anxiety about emotions and taking things too far? That could easily be talked through; it didn’t make sense. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you tried confronting him?” Barry offered the sound of the voice coming back into his head, he caught onto the words ‘wonder if y...’, but he shook his head, knowing it wasn’t the time for the voice at the moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t.” Dick had calmed down enough to stop playing with his fingers, knowing Barry was taking this serious and trying to help, “I wanted to today, that’s why I came here in the first place. But you…” he motioned towards Barry’s Flash costume.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Barry breathed, glancing down at himself for a brief moment before looking back up at Dick, “Do you want me to get Wally? I’m sure you could talk to him for a few minutes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he declined, “No, it’s alright. I mean--I can try another time.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure? I can take you to the police station if you’d like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. We wouldn’t be able to talk for long anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe you could ask him to eat next time you two talk.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dick stared up at him, his mouth pulled into a straight line, and his eyes largened. Barry thought over his words, then quickly clarified himself, “No, no, not like a date! I meant--because he likes food and maybe it could make things less stressful. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The wave of relief he saw hit Dick was enormous, and Barry felt terrible for having him think he had to take Wally out on a date, the boy already had things he was worried about, Barry didn’t want to push a romantic date into him when he clearly didn’t need it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After his initial reaction, a breeze swept past them, making Dick push his hair away from his face. “I...might. That does sound nice.” Dick laughed timidly before he took a deep breath and swallowed. A couple of moments passed without words being exchanged, the breeze taking a liking to making Dick’s dark hair strands dance around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry could hear him breathe, “Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe Saturday.” under his breath, making a small smile creep onto the speedster’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meeting Barry’s eyes again, Dick grinned, one that looked real and honest, “Thank you, Barry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course.” he replied, remembering what Dick had said at the beginning, “And my lips will be sealed, at least until you two figure everything out.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Dick said again, a spark in his eyes. “I have to go now, the team will be worried.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take care, Dick.” Barry waved as he watched the gymnast walk towards the edge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell Wally I said hi.” Dick smiled, one that was a bit teasing, making Barry chuckle. Telling the man he would, he soon saw him jump, catching himself on another building, then scaling it to slowly make his way down. Once his feet hit the ground he took off around a building, leaving Barry alone on the rooftop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hoped they’d figured things out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rubbing the mark with the toe of his boot, Barry waited for the meeting to start. Blinking slowly, he tried getting the image of the child from his head, but it kept coming back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A shiver ran down his back as his brain placed a younger version of Wally’s face on the child’s. Moving to run his hand through his hair, Barry realized he was wearing his suit, so he just let his hand slide down to the back of his neck. He knew he shouldn’t have done that, but his mind could only imagine how hard it must be for the family.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Moving his hand to support his chin, Barry frowned, his eyes looking down at the table. The voice came back, ‘he’d probably be ther...’ , pushing Barry from his own thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He”.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This voice would always talk about a “he”. Barry wasn’t sure who “he” was, but Barry assumes the voice likes him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sighing, Barry imagined his own “he”. Picturing Hal floating around in space, his ring aflame with green. He had just saved a planet and is headed back to Oa with his found Lantern family. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Spotting Batman starting to stand to begin the meeting, Barry waved away his fantasy. Straightening his back to sit up properly and listen, Barry heard the chair beside him slightly squeak, like pressure was being applied to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glancing to the seat, Barry was happily surprised when he saw Hal slumped in his chair. Giving a small smile towards the Lantern as a greeting, Barry quickly went to focus on Batman before Hal could distract him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The meeting seemed to stretch on. The speedster commonly found himself planning on what to say to Hal once the meeting was over. Maybe he could invite him to someplace for food? What if he wasn’t hungry? Perhaps he can tell him about the weird things on his ankles? Would Hal want to deal with his problems? He could ask Hal about his time in space. Then what would they talk about next? Maybe how Barry was doing on Earth? Or maybe Hal doesn’t want Barry to talk about himself. Maybe ask him about any missions he had? But what if Hal had already talked about his missions? Maybe he could ask how the other Lanterns are doing? Would that sound like he was worrying too much? Or maybe it’d sound like he was trying to force Hal into a conversation? He didn’t want to force Hal into a conversation. That was the last thing he wanted Hal to feel, especially just coming back from space.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Barry, can you stay for a moment.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking up, he realized the meeting had ended. He had listened to barely half of what Batman had to say, but now Bruce was telling him to stay after the meeting. Now everyone was getting up and leaving, everyone including Hal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking between the two, Barry eventually got up and shuffled over to Batman, worried about doing something wrong. The memory of Dick confessing about his time with Wally flashed through his head, making Barry even more nervous. Was Bruce going to talk about his nephew with his son? Oh God, what if he won’t allow them to continue being friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah?” Barry chirped, his show on putting on a carefree fa</span>
  <span>ç</span>
  <span>ade. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you mind continuing to talk about the marks on your ankles?” Bruce asked, his voice smooth, deep, and not at all too serious, as it was in the meeting</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry relaxed a bit, but he quirked an eyebrow at why Bruce would want to talk about the markings on his ankles. Bruce seemed to notice since he started explaining. “I think I might have an idea of what the patterns mean.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” Barry’s shocked expression gaining the raven-haired hero to raise both brows, making Barry shrink a little, “Uh, yeah, sure. It’s just, I thought you said you had no ideas last time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The speedster kept at Batman’s heels as he got up and started to stride out of the meeting room, making his way around the Watchtower to get to the monitors. Barry looked around as they made their way towards the computers, catching sight of Hal running his hand through his hair as he made his way towards the cafeteria, Ollie going up and giving a friendly slap to the Lantern’s shoulder as they both made their way towards the cafeteria while they caught up with each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking back to Batman, they entered the room, and Bruce went to pull up some files. “I didn’t have a chance to get a photo of your markings last time, but I searched around and found a few documentations of what could be the same thing happening to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce then started showing Barry pages upon pages of mysterious markings appearing on the skin. Many were from medical professionals, but others were from blogs who were writing down their experience with random patterns and marks on their ankles, some lacked information while others had too much information, and Barry couldn’t say he had a lot of symptoms on his ankle other than it looks like it was glowing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking at the images provided, Barry didn’t remember his marks looking so small since he inspected it this morning. Grabbing a seat, Barry pulled his foot from his boot to have a comparison to the photos. Bruce examined with him, his eyes going from the screen and the speedster’s ankle.  “It grew. It’s deeper than last time,” he commented, causing Barry to feel a sense of dread like the markings were going to kill him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you tried getting a doctor’s opinion on it?” Bruce asked, his cursor going to click on the medical reports. Both of their fathers were in the medical field, that might be why both of them were so inclined with science and wanting to understand things. Bruce had asked him the same question the first time they discussed the markings, and though Barry hadn’t talked to any doctors on it, he didn’t think any doctor knew why marks engraved into his ankle looked like it was glowing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t even sure it was something happening inside his body, rather, something that happened around him to make those marks on the bump of his ankle skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I haven’t.” Barry moved his attention to his other ankle. The markings weren’t the same on both ankles, the one on his right ankle stretched a bit further than the one on his left, but that was because the markings were more spaced on his right than his left, “Should I? I’m not sure they’d be able to diagnose me with anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You never know,” Bruce rubbed at his chin, scrolling and clicking around in his file. There weren’t many instances found when a mark was glowing, even less glowing red. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce was right, he didn’t know. But something in him told him it was the cloud place he was in that gave him the markings. Before Barry put his boots back on, Bruce stopped him, placing a hand in front of the speedster to stop him from moving, his eyes trained on Barry’s markings. Their bodies getting tainted light red for a second before the voice came back into his head, ‘Where did he go?’ His markings glimmered with a tone of green, rather than the red it was colored.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once the voice fluttered away, his marking softened with its brightness, going back to its defining fake, light cherry glow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two looked up at each other, awe in their eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you do to make it glow?” Bruce asked, a stern tone to his words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh–” Barry bit the inside of his lip, not sure if the glow was attached to the voice in his head. Up until now, he hasn’t admitted to having the voice in his head. There wasn’t a reason to, he was fine with it, but if the voice was affecting his entire body, that might be a problem. “I’m...I’m not–”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door to the room swished open, the two turned to see Hal standing in front of the doorway, his eyes lighting up when he saw the speedster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Barry! Hey, I--” Hal giving a suspicious glance to them when he noticed Bruce’s hand over the speedster’s chest, his head tilted up a bit, indicating that he was looking at the screen to get any clues as to what they were doing before he came in, “Uhm… I can come back if…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Batman squinted at the intruding brunette, “Lantern.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh,” Hal placed his hand on his hip, moving to lean against the doorframe, and throw an exasperated expression to the Dark Knight, “Yeah, I was wondering if I could borrow Flash for a second.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce gave Barry a questioning look, one that asked if he wanted to go with Hal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I, well, we’re…” Barry stuttered, “I mean…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal sauntered over to Barry’s side, his elbow going to rest at the top of his chair’s backrest. “You two doing something secret I can’t join?” his eyes dropping to Barry’s bare feet, “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>were you guys doing in here? I don’t even think I’d even want to join in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry flushed darkly as if he was caught doing something shameful. Luckily, Bruce still had a voice and answered to the brunette with a sharp tone. “We were investigating something bothering Flash.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>make it sound better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Hal quipped, one of his eyebrows lifted and a smirk painted over his face, “You doing a lot of “investigation” with your hand on his chest, Bats?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry pulled his legs together, sliding down in his seat as he tried retrieving his boots. Knowing he’d have to stop the imminent argument that was going to erupt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is none of your concern, Lantern.” Batman glared daggered towards the teasing brunette.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what is?” Hal jeered, “Cause it looks kinda questionable where your hands are and Barry’s boots missing from his feet!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The speedster had to push them apart, afraid they would start biting at each other and suffocate Barry between them. “We were trying to figure out some markings on my ankle, Hal. That’s it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, then why couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>say that?!” Hal spat, his eyes as narrow as Batman’s. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t sure if he wanted that to be disclosed.” Batman hissed back, a threatening pitch in his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pushing against the two from moving in on each other, Barry had to bark out a harsh “Stop.” before the two could finish their stand-off and start going at each other's throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce leaned back in his chair, still brooding in his seat, while Hal backed off significantly. The brunette pulled his attention from Batman to Barry’s ankles. “Markings, huh?’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Barry had to answer with a warning tone in his voice, making sure Hal wasn’t going to try and pick a fight with him either. Hal put his hands up in surrender, showing he wasn’t going to bicker with Barry, he just wanted to talk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do they look like?” Hal quired after he saw Barry’s eyes soften.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bending his leg to have the markings face towards the ceiling, Hal studied them for all but ten seconds, then snickered lightly. When he was asked what was so funny, he waved off the question, going back to examining the markings. Poking and running his finger around the marking before he looked to Barry’s other ankle. His brows twisted in confusion, but the smile on his was showing amusement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sweeping his hair back, Hal let go of a laugh. “That looks like how I write my name.” Hal pointed out, making his gloves disappear and flipping his hands over to show his palm towards the speedster. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just below where his fingers connected, Hal too had some squiggles and dots on his hand as well, some were already letters engraved to his hand. An ‘a’ with its tail curved, and the ‘o’ connected to the ‘l’ as Barry’d do whenever he had to sign anything with his full name. On his left hand, which was Hal’s right hand, Barry could just make out his middle and last name, so if Hal were to put his hands side-by-side with his pinkies touching, he’d be able to read Barry’s full name from left to right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Barry gaped, moving his hand to lightly touch at his name with the pads of his fingers, the engraved marks illuminated lightly when they were touched, but instead of a green light radiating, like how they’re colored, the marking alternated between a rainbow of colors before settling on the same pale red color on Barry’s ankle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal motioned to the speedster’s ankle. There was a slight throb in his skin, Barry caught a glimpse of his marks doing the same as on Hal’s hands, a burn pressed over the nerves in his ankles, and with the way Hal clenched his fists, Barry could see his markings were burning as well. Pressing his hands over his joints, Barry removed them, watching as Hal’s name started carving itself into his pale skin, the light still flickering through colors until Hal’s name was fully printed into his skin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once the words “Harold Jordan” were etched into his skin, the burning turned into a dull throb, Barry’s words turning into the pale green from Hal’s hands. Prodding at Hal’s curled fingers, Barry watched Tan fingers uncurl, his name was revealed on Hal’s hands to have turned a pale red.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking a breath, Barry let go of a heavy sigh and turned it into a cumbersome laugh. “Uh, well…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hal let out a small chuckle, nervous and slightly sheepish, “Problem solved?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Have no idea what's going on? Yeah, same.<br/>This is a weird soulmate au, and it's way too complicated. I'll explain it in tomorrow's end notes if you still don't understand it, since that's when everything will be tied together, hopefully. I think I made it more complicated because they're soulmates in a universe where soulmates don't exist, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. And More</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>D7) Freebie</p><p>Perhaps it wasn't too much to ask for.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Last day! Dang, that...kinda went fast.<br/>I'm sorry you read this! I'm a wreck, I'm sorry!<br/>Enjoy???</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>‘He might be pissed, I don’t know.’</p><p>‘Well, he invited you to stay over, right? Why would he be mad at you staying over?’</p><p>‘...I don’t know…’</p><p>Barry washed the soap from his hair, scrubbing the water from his eyes once he drowned the soap out. Reaching from behind the curtain, Barry pulled a towel into the shower to dry his hair. </p><p>‘Maybe you should ask him? Ask if he’s okay with you staying there?’</p><p>‘He’d just say it’s always okay for me to stay over, but, y’know, that could be a lie.’</p><p>‘If he’s your friend why would he lie to you?’</p><p>‘Because he feels bad for me?’</p><p>The blond frowned, taking his time to think over the options. Drying off his body and moving to his legs, Barry glanced at Hal’s glowing name on both his ankles. </p><p>After their names were engraved in each other, Hal had taken him away from Bruce, timidly asking him if he could stay in his house for a bit. Barry had agreed, telling him he was glad Hal was okay. They didn’t get to catch up like Barry had wanted to since Hal was called back to Oa. Hal had begrudgingly gave the speedster a farewell before rushing out the room. </p><p>That night, two major things had happened. The voice talked in full sentences, and Barry found out he could talk to the voice, and it’d respond. Barry soon found himself talking with the voice every few hours or so, nicknaming himself Red, while the voice named itself Green. Barry just had to open his mind, and then he’d be able to talk to the voice when he’s patrolling, or when he’s in bed unable to fall asleep.</p><p>Hal had come back after a few days, giving a brief explanation of the Guardians wanting to make sure he was entirely free from Parallax. When Barry asked if they knew if it wasn’t Parallax, and instead Hal’s fear, the brunette went silent and stayed quiet for the rest of the day, the only words exchanged between them being a “goodnight” before they went to sleep.</p><p>‘He wouldn’t do that. If you say he’s as great as he is, he wouldn’t be doing what he’s doing out of pity.’</p><p>Barry didn’t get a response afterward, things going silent as he went to brush his teeth and comb back his wet hair with his fingers.</p><p>Exiting his bathroom, Barry found Hal peeking into his room. </p><p>“Hal?” Barry left his bathroom door cracked open to stand in front of the peering Lantern, “Do you need something?” They haven’t bid each other good night yet, it wasn’t late enough yet for Barry to be tired, but he was planning to talk to the voice a bit more before going to sleep.</p><p>“Do you have any spare blankets?” Hal asked.</p><p>“I have some in the closet downstairs,” Barry pulled the door wide open, stilling a bit when he looked over Hal’s partially naked form. Hal stepped out of the doorway, making the speedster snap from his thoughts, swallowing nervously before making his way downstairs.</p><p>“Hal, if you were cold, maybe wearing a shirt and some pants would help.” Barry sighed, pulling open the closet door to see if he could find a spare blanket.</p><p>“It’s more comfortable sleeping with no shirt though,” Hal replied, waiting behind Barry, his hand resting on the doorknob to the closet. The hallway felt too narrow with both of them standing there as Barry rummaged around to find any spare blankets. </p><p>“Uh…” Barry pulled back, trying to remember if he gave his spare blankets away. The lack of extra blankets told him so. Feeling Hal move to be beside him, Hal went on his tiptoes to look over the top shelves. “I don’t think I have any… Hold on.”</p><p>Speeding from the hallway, up the stairs, and into his room, Barry pulled the sheets from his bed. Carrying them to the couch, Barry spread it across the sofa, watching it drift down, covering the cushions and pillows. Smoothing the cover over the couch, he hears Hal’s footsteps come from the hallway.</p><p>"Where'd you get that?" </p><p>"My bed?" </p><p>Hal lifted an eyebrow, "Was that meant to sound like you have no clue where you got those sheets?"</p><p>Barry had to laugh at that, plucking the pillow from the couch and fluffing it up, "I don't have any extra blankets, do you mind sleeping with my covers?"</p><p>"Jesus Christ, Barry." Hal leaned over the couch, his hands holding onto the backrest to not fall over, "You think I'd complain about you giving me your sheets?"</p><p>The blond shrugged, leaning back from Hal's face, but smirked with amusement. Brown eyes became half-lidded, Hal’s smile became softer and Barry had to bite back his smile from growing.</p><p>Green’s voice came back, his tone low and husky in a way Barry’s never heard it before, ‘Fuck, I wanna kiss him.’</p><p>Blinking to bring in the rest of the room, Barry pulled himself back from his tunnel vision. Hal seemed to notice, as his smile dropped, his eyes fell to the couch, and his bottom lip got covered with his upper lip as he bit it.</p><p>“Thanks…” Hal softly thanked, his hand dragged across the back of the couch before he looked back up at the speedster.</p><p>“Yeah, of course.” Barry smiled weakly, excusing himself to run back to his room. Shutting the door, Barry opened his mind, wondering what had happened with Green.</p><p>‘You should kiss him.’ he answered, feeling like he might be interrupting his Green’s kiss.</p><p>‘Heh, a bit too late for that.’ Green chuckled dryly, breaking Barry’s anxiety, but the way he sounded made him sigh.</p><p>‘I assume you didn’t?’</p><p>‘Not even a little.’</p><p>‘I’m sorry…’ Barry flopped onto his bed, slowly blinking up at the light.</p><p>‘It’s not your fault.’ he sounded disappointed but played it off wonderfully.</p><p>Frowning to himself, Barry rolled over onto his stomach, letting out a sigh in his mind, dropping his head until his forehead hit his blankets.</p><p>He had noticed him and his voice both agreed with a lot of things. Sometimes he’d convince himself enough to believe that the voice was himself, and needed to book an appointment with a psychiatrist or at least a psychologist. </p><p>‘Green?’ Barry quietly mumbled, another part of his brain thinking through what could happen if he were going crazy. What would his response to himself be in these situations? Would it be the same as Green’s?</p><p>‘Yeah?’</p><p>Would Green be defensive if he were to ask him if he were real? Green was never hostile before, Barry wasn’t sure if he could even be frustrated. Green seemed like he could be disappointed and in love, making the thought of fighting with him unappealing. He shouldn’t tick him off. </p><p>‘Nevermind.’</p><p>‘You sure?’</p><p>Scratching the back of his head, Barry wondered if he were to ask Green to not be angry if he would comply.</p><p>‘Well…’ Barry got ready to close off his mind, just in case, ‘Are you real?’</p><p>After a beat of silence, Barry winced, thinking he just offended him. Just as he was contemplating to close his mind, he heard Green laugh.</p><p>‘Holy shit!’ Green snickered, easing Barry’s panic, ‘I’m sorry.’ Green broke out into another chuckle, ‘sorry, sorry, it’s just...I–legitimately–thought the same thing but for you!’</p><p>Barry smiled, pushing himself to sit up, on his bed, ‘Oh, thank God. I thought you were going to explode on me or something.’</p><p>‘Why would I do that?’ Green’s voice still had pieces of laughter in it, but also still sounded genuine, ‘I’m just a voice to you. I’m surprised you’re still talking to me!’</p><p>Barry giggled, crawling up to lay his chin on his pillow, ‘Yeah. I <em> have </em>considered making appointments though.’</p><p>The two laughed about it for a bit, going back and forth, making fun of themselves for being stupid and thinking it was healthy for them to just have a random voice in their heads.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, Barry hugged his pillow tightly, redirecting them back to the question. </p><p>‘Right, yeah, sorry. Uhm…’ Green made the sound of clearing his throat, ‘I mean, I think I’m real. As real as you think you are. You...are real too, right? Because that’d be awkward if I compared myself to you and you aren’t even real.’</p><p>Barry laughed to himself, ‘I too think I’m real. But I would not be surprised if reality is just a computer simulation.’</p><p>There was a second of quietness where Green didn’t answer, leaving Barry’s smile to widen in anticipation for Green’s reaction.</p><p>‘Damn.’ </p><p>Barry cracked up, holding his pillow to himself as he tried to suppress his laughter enough so Hal couldn’t hear him downstairs.</p><p>‘That was--I was not expecting that.’ Green chortled, his laughing nervous but Barry could hear him enjoying the moment.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but the sound of his clock ringing startling him out of unconsciousness. Whacking around on his bedside table, he shut off his clock, grabbing the edge of his sheets and rolling away from that side of the bed.</p><p>His breath slowly evening out as he went back to sleep, unawareness luring him into sleep before Green’s voice crept into his mind, ‘Good morning.’</p><p>Squeezing his eyes, Barry then blinked them open, lightly moaning to wake himself up. ‘It’s early.’</p><p>Green chuckled lightly, his voice thick with sleep, yet his laugh sounded pleasantly breathy. ‘Time to get up.’</p><p>‘Very on point, Green.’ Barry wearily yawned, blinking back tears that flooded into his eyes, ‘My alarm just rang.’</p><p>‘I try my best.’ he could hear Green smiling, ‘Also my friend’s alarm just rang too, it woke me up.’</p><p>‘It seems to do that a lot.’ Barry pushed himself to his feet, scratching the back of his head as he made his way towards his bathroom. His mind already wanting coffee to get it kicking back into gear.</p><p>‘He wakes up earlier than me, but his alarm is loud as hell.’ </p><p>Barry mumbled out ‘mhm’s, trying to sound invested in what Green was trying to say, but was ultimately too tired to find other words. Splashing his face with water and rinsing out his mouth, Barry felt at his stubble, opting on shaving tonight, he combed and gelled up his hair.</p><p>Trying his best to slide out his room – though he didn’t need to try that hard since the sound of the coffee machine could be heard starting up – and silently slink downstairs, peering around to see Hal already awake, his back turned towards the stairs, staring at the coffee machine.</p><p>“Guess he’s too hot for the cold to get to him since he didn’t even put on a shirt.’ Barry shook his head, noiselessly taking another step down, Barry rolled his eyes but still smiled, remembering Hal asking for an extra blanket, now look at him, he’s wearing nothing but his white boxers.</p><p>‘What?’ Green piped up, his voice sounding much sober than a few seconds ago.</p><p>‘Sorry, just…something my roommate’s doing.’ Barry remarked, turning away as not to feel as though he’s inappropriately ogling at his best friend. Just in time too, since once he made it to the last step, he hears Hal greet him in a tired, yet somehow fruity way at eight a.m.</p><p>“Morning.” </p><p>“Mmmorning…” the blond throatily uttered, stumbling to the pantry to try and find something to eat. Green had woken him up much earlier than he’d usually wake up today, which means he has a lot of time to dilly-dally around if he so pleased.</p><p>He heard Hal starting to tap his finger against the marble countertop, his mind wandering around. Maybe he should go to work early. Then he’d be able to get a headstart on his work and wouldn’t need to work overtime. </p><p>Picking out some cereal for himself, Barry pulled a much bigger than average cereal bowl from the cabinet and fetched a spoon along with it. Dumping the cereal into the bowl until it was filled nearly to the brim, Barry poured his milk over his breakfast, nearly splashing the milk with the way he poured it.</p><p>Moving across the table, Barry found himself a seat and started eating. Opening his mind, secretly hoping Green would start speaking since he wanted someone to talk to, but had no conversation ideas.</p><p>The tapping suddenly stopped, the sound of Hal turning around found his ears before Barry could find a topic to discuss with Green. That’s when he realized he doesn’t know a lot about Green. Sure, he knows some things, like how he’s in love with his friend, he’s a real person, he doesn’t have a house, and he can’t keep a steady job because of life problems. The other things he knows about him are small and mundane, like how he can't cook, or that he describes himself as a “fucking dumbass”. </p><p>“Barry?” Hal’s voice rang over his thoughts, making him turn around to face the brunette, who was now slouched back, resting his elbows on the counters. </p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>Hal was quiet for a moment, his eyes making him look spaced out. Once he realized they were staring at each other, Hal moved his line of vision to his feet, “Uh… I--you’re…” he paused for all of a second before he opened his mouth again, “Nevermind.”</p><p>Blinking a few times, Barry was waiting for Hal to change his mind, but he just turned back to watching the coffee drip from the machine into the mug.</p><p>Quirking an eyebrow, Barry waved off the interaction. Maybe he was just tired and accidentally said something out loud. Continuing to munch on his breakfast, Hal had soon handed Barry his coffee, which he was grateful for.</p><p>Hal poured some milk into a bowl before he pulled up a chair for him to sit upon, and grabbed the cereal Barry had left out on the table to pour into his bowl. Telling Barry to watch as he placed his spoon on the cereal, and called it a raft since his spoon wasn't touching the milk.</p><p>When Hal looked up for a reaction, Barry smiled at him. It was childish, but Barry kind of liked that about Hal. He found joy in small things, like a lit candle, or some cereal holding a spoon over some milk.</p><p>Hal chuckled to himself, tapping against the cereal raft in his bowl until it broke, and he started gnawing away at the raft. Barry had to stop for a second, swearing he’s heard that laugh before. Maybe his brain was confused, but he swears he’s heard that laugh just today.</p><p>'Red…' came Green’s voice, making him freeze mid-bite. He’s heard that voice before. He’s heard that laugh before. He’s heard it all before.</p><p>'Yea...?' Barry carefully replied, his eyes looking up from his bowl to gaze at Hal, who was stirring the contents of his cereal.</p><p>'Red, I think…' Green’s voice paused as Hal meekly lifted his eyes from his food to look towards Barry, their eyes catching onto each other, Hal’s–rarely seen–shy side coming to peer itself from the brunette when he decided to blink, dropping his eyes back to his breakfast.</p><p>That shut down the conversation between Red and Green as well as Barry and Hal for the rest of the morning.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>That day, Barry went to work early, not wanting to linger in the tense atmosphere between him and Hal, but no matter what he did, his mind still thought of everything that happened. His mind trying to pick up the pieces of what felt like an everlasting puzzle.</p><p>He tried concentrating, and he had, to some extent. He finished a few cases, but he also might’ve slipped into his speed once or twice when no one was looking. It wasn’t that his speed was too noticeable. It was that, with his speed, he could think more and more about what happened between him and Hal, and that’d just leave him with more questions and none of his actual work done.</p><p>He’d try to push it to the back of his brain, but it’d still come crawling back, and the cycle would continue repeating until lunch.</p><p>He declined the invitation from Patty to have lunch with her and her co-workers. Instead, deciding a run to clear his mind would do him much better than having to try and interact with others.</p><p>Changing at the back of the building, Barry zoomed off once he had his suit on. </p><p>Everything he confessed, everything he and Green had talked about. Green’s longing words, his saddened sighs, the way he’d describe his best friend. Barry took a deep breath while his feet were splashing against the Indian Ocean. </p><p>Green wasn’t the only one to admit some things, Barry also had said some things about Hal as well. The way he was falling head-over-heels for Hal, the pining he had done, the words he could now never take back. It sparked a feeling of hope in Barry’s chest, one that made him believe that Green wasn’t lying, that Green was speaking with his heart, and that, maybe, just maybe, there’s that hope of him being able to hold and love Hal, as if...as if they were in a relationship…and there was that feeling in his chest again. A warmth flooding through his body as his feet hit the soil of Canda, a warmth that was soon shut down when Barry pressed it away from himself, not wanting to hope. Not wanting to get it into his mind that there’d be a chance with Hal because he knows it’d break him when Hal decides to leave him, because some other person-alien-creature was better.</p><p>Shaking his head, Barry forced his thoughts out, trying to go back to how this all could’ve started, how any of this made even the least bit of sense.</p><p>Breathing steadily as he crossed the Philippine islands, Barry rewound his mind, thinking back, way back. </p><p>How did this all happen? When did it start?</p><p>The image of the stars, the dark sky painted into his mind. The rings, the transformation, the anger, love pulsing through him, hope lighting his soul on fire. The Green Lantern ring, the black hole, the string, the kiss, the Yellow Lanterns, Parallax. Barry pushed himself to run another lap around the world as his breathing got heavier. The healing, John’s quote, the moments, the return, the string, <em> the string </em> , <b> <em> the string</em> </b>. Barry skidded to a halt in the middle of Tokyo, Japan. Billboards flashing colorful lights that illuminated the people crossing the streets, the city still alive, even though it was four in the morning. It reminded him of Central.</p><p>Taking off from his place before people could start to notice, Barry sprinted over the Pacific Ocean, his mind kept closely on the string. Barry had picked up the bow, put it beside his own, made it touch his bow. The bows never touched each other before, at least, Barry assumed so since that was the last thing he remembered when he was transported to the cloud dimension. In the cloud dimension, he found Hal had a fear, his fear wasn’t able to be in his body properly because Hal was rejecting it, but somehow Hal began absorbing it again when he threatened himself about telling something to Barry.</p><p>Not thinking too long and hard about it, Barry quickly moved on. They sat down, that <b> <em>string </em> </b>emerged from the ground, it started growing on Barry and touched at a light inside his chest, it also sprouted towards Hal. Barry wasn’t entirely sure what happened to Hal, but the next thing he knows he’s in the med-bay, no string on both of them. But, after a couple of days, Barry realized he had markings on his ankle, which were Hal’s names, and Hal had his name but carved onto his hands. Barry touched at Hal’s markings and soon he had Hal’s full name on his ankles, while Hal had his, their names also switched colors and, at least for Barry, would glow the other’s color whenever that Red and Green would talk to each other.</p><p>His legs soon drifted into a light jog, his body steadily slowing down until he could make-out buildings and signs without them being all blurred together. Things started making sense, of course not everything fit into place. Like, why was Hal’s string lashing around so violently? </p><p>Coming to a walking pace, the sight of something made Barry fall out of his thoughts.</p><p>Under some umbrella-tables sat a red-head with a jet-black haired gentleman. Several bags of their trash from lunch littered around the table as the red-head tried collecting them all and stuffing them into one bag.</p><p>Barry knew he shouldn’t stare, but he was glad Wally and Dick were sorting things out, though today wasn’t Saturday, like Dick had planned. Shuffling away from the middle of the walking space, Barry crouched behind a bush, knowing he’d have to move soon since people would start crowding around him. He just wanted to know if things were going well.</p><p>When he saw Wally reach over and place his hand over Dick’s, causing him to smile, his shoulders easing out as they did that night he talked to Barry.</p><p>Knowing that was his sign to leave, Barry ran back to the forensic lab, content with the idea that at least one thing was working out today.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>That night, as Barry was driving, he pondered about whether or not he should talk to Wally, and how long that promise, of not telling Wally what Dick had told him, would last. But the last thing he wanted to do was try and force a conversation about relationships with his nephew.</p><p>Talking about relationships, Barry also wondered if Hal was going to be home. The Guardians seem to be checking up on him a lot, sending Lanterns, telling him to come to Oa for a day or so, and though Barry doubts Hal would need to go to Oa today, he had a gut feeling Hal wouldn’t want to stay in a house with someone who he’s...told things to.</p><p>That being at the forefront of Barry’s head, he could only imagine how stunned to see, Hal sitting around on the porch steps, with Kyle, while Guy was seated on the grass in front of them, picking at the lawn, as they seemed to wait for Barry, all in civilian clothing as if they just got invited to a party that hasn’t started yet. Once they saw Barry’s car, they immediately jumped, Guy, having to haul Hal up to his feet until the brunette could stand, then mumbling something to him, as Kyle placed a hand on Hal’s back.</p><p>Parking his car, Barry threw open the door and went to go figure out why there were two more Lanterns in front of his house, than there usually are. It must be something important to have three of the four core human Lanterns on his porch.</p><p>“Did something happen?” the speedster shoved his car door closed and ran up to the three.</p><p>“Hi Barry,” Kyle gave a smile to him, but it seemed more apologetic than anything.</p><p>“Hi--uh, did something happen?” Barry asked, just as Guy pushed Hal towards Barry, making the brunette stumble, and eventually glare at Guy went he got his footing. Guy only gave him a thumbs up, before he pushed past Hal and got face-to-face with Barry, his eyes narrowed on the blond as he used his body language to seem taller than he is. “Uh…”</p><p>“C’mon, Guy,” Kyle pulled the red-head away from the blond, who was confused, and not entirely sure if he should be feeling threatened, or if he should be confused at all.</p><p>“Sorry,” Kyle gave Barry another apologetic smile, “We just stayed to make sure Hal wasn’t going to run away.”</p><p>Hal grumbled something that Barry couldn’t quite catch, but he didn’t get to ask anyway since Kyle and Guy were soon powering up and flying away.</p><p>Guy turned around and shot back, “Don’t be a fucking pansy!” Earning himself the bird from Hal, which seemed to be the correct response, since Guy started sniggering and turned back to the sky.</p><p>Barry stood there, a bit shellshocked, kind of tired, and not sure what he was supposed to do.</p><p>Hal sighed, watching the pair of Lanterns drift off before he turned to Barry, “Let’s just go inside.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The atmosphere wasn’t ideal. Honestly, it would be better if Hal decided to sit at the table while he waited for Barry to microwave some fried rice for both of them. Barry could feel Hal staring at him, he was just waiting for Hal to speak up about what happened a few minutes ago.</p><p>The food finished heating up before they could make normal conversation, which wasn’t too surprising, Barry didn’t expect Hal to be talking to him. He didn’t even expect him to be here in his house, so he waited patiently. Sliding Hal his food, then taking a seat for himself,  he ate at his food, not being able to get himself to look up at Hal.</p><p>After a few minutes of getting used to the silence, Hal piped up with, “Red.”</p><p>Barry looked to Hal, who was just staring at him. It wasn’t creepy, more just unexpected. Barry waited for more, but when the seconds flew by, he realized he wasn’t going to get more than his name.</p><p>“Green,” Barry said back, nervously spinning his utensil between his fingers.</p><p>Hal let out a breath, one that was much like Green’s disappointed sigh. His eyes dropped to the table, his hand coming to touch at his temple as he rested his elbow against the edge of the table. “Listen, I--” he bit his lips, and that’s when Barry knew it was time to intervene.</p><p>“Hal, you don’t have to.” </p><p>His eyes found Hal’s and there was curiousness to them. “Don’t have to what?”</p><p>Barry knew he couldn’t keep eye contact. It made his stomach nauseous, but he didn’t want to come off as unsure either. “You...you don’t have to tell me.”</p><p>Hal lifted his brow to that, his fingers pulling from his temple to support his chin as he leaned into his hand, “Tell you what?”</p><p>Barry gave him a tired expression, flicking up rice from his bowl onto Hal’s side of the table, making the brunette’s frown turn into a small smile, which infected onto Barry’s face.</p><p>“C’mon, tell you what?” he repeated, knowing he’d get a response from the blond.</p><p>Barry broke their eye contact, looking down at his yellow rice and mixing it around with his spoon, his smile growing, “You know…”</p><p>“Do I? Because I wouldn’t be asking if I did.”</p><p>Barry ate another spoonful of his dinner, his eyes going to look at the floor. The feeling of nervousness hit him. Oh, God, what if Hal wasn’t teasing. What if he wasn’t going to say what Barry thought he was going to say. Was he stupid? Did he pick up the wrong social cues? He stopped chewing, pursing his lips together, and knitting his brows in an attempt to think. </p><p>The scrape of chair legs getting dragged over the floor got Barry to slightly pull from his thoughts, and before he knew it, Hal was in front of him, he leaned down, placing his hands on Barry’s taunt shoulders, then moved in slowly enough for Barry to be able to stop what he was doing, but Barry’s mind shorted out and he tensed up, the only thing he could do was swallow his half-chewed spoonful of food.</p><p>Hal stopped moving as well, his eyes wide, he didn’t know Barry wanted this. He’s dreamt of this, and--oh, God, he was making a fool of himself. This shouldn’t be that hard. He’s making it too difficult, it shouldn’t be this hard. </p><p>Taking a breath, and inhaling Hal’s scent with how close he was, Barry opened his brain, letting himself be able to talk through his mind. ‘Hal?’ </p><p>‘Is this okay? Am I going too fast?’ </p><p>That’s when Barry noticed the fear in Hal’s eyes. They were panicked, scared even, but he didn’t want that. He wanted Hal to feel safe in his presence, just like he did whenever Hal was around. </p><p>Fear. “<em> You mean with Barry? </em> ” Panic. “ <em> Tell him, </em> ” Scared. “ <em> tell him how he makes you feel. </em> ” Worry. “ <em> You still drive me when you shouldn’t! </em> ” “ <em> You mean with Barry? </em> ” “ <em> Tell him, </em> ” “ <em> a bit too late for that. </em> ” “ <em> Barry? </em> ” “ <em> Red? </em> ” “ <em> Nevermind. </em> ” “ <em> Red, I think… </em> ” “ <em> I think… </em> ”“ <em> I think… </em> ”“ <em> I think… </em> ”“ <em> I think… </em> ”“ <em> I think… </em> ”“ <em> I think… </em> ”“ <em> Nevermind. </em> ”“ <em> Nevermind. </em> ”“ <em> Nevermind. </em> ”“ <em> Nevermind. </em> ”“ <em> Nevermind. </em> ”“ <em> Nevermind.” </em> “ <em> Fuck, I wanna kiss him. </em>”</p><p>Closing the distance between them, Barry pressed their lips together softly. Hal’s lips were chapped and tasted of fried rice, it wasn’t perfect, nothing really is, but it <em> felt </em>perfect. </p><p>Hal leaned in, and Barry had to bring his hands up to cup at his face, gently touching at his jaw, his fingers coming to nestle up behind Hal’s ear while his thumb stayed on his cheek. Hal began opening his mouth, his tongue tracing against Barry’s lips, but before he could go any further, Barry pulled them apart, panting lightly to get air into his lungs. </p><p>He looked over Hal’s features as he breathed, his own breath smelling of rice and coffee. Barry caressed his thumb over Hal’s cheekbone, looking over Hal’s lips, the way his cupid’s bow dipped, the bump of his nose, the way his eyes shone with hope instead of fear. </p><p>‘You know, I was scared of this.’ Hal’s voice murmured in his head, ‘I astral projected and the fear from my fucking soul had to come out and beat me to a pulp because I was scared of this.’</p><p>Barry’s fingers moved to curl Hal’s brown locks behind his ears, ‘You don’t have to be afraid.’</p><p>Hal’s eyes seemed to soften, his chest rising when he took a deep breath, then lowering when he let it go. Moving his hands from Barry’s shoulders to intertwine behind the blond’s neck, Hal bent down until he was on his knees, and at eye-level with Barry.</p><p>‘The Lanterns were making a big deal over this.’ Hal admitted, ‘Guy and Kyle dragged me here on John’s orders.’</p><p>Barry chuckled, watching Hal’s mouth break into a loving smile. Then, their lips were latching on to each other again, but this time Hal was pushing against Barry’s lips, they broke apart for Hal to turn and connect their lips again from a different angle. The hand that was on Hal’s jaw slid down to his neck, the movement making Hal pleasantly hum into the kiss. Barry smiled warmly when they broke apart, placing his forehead against Hal’s, their noses beside each other. They were so close, Barry could see the crow’s feet in the corners of Hal’s eyes.</p><p>“You don’t have to be scared anymore, Hal.” Barry softly breathed, his smile dropping as his brows knitted, his tone caring and gentle.</p><p>There was a beat of silence, Hal’s thumb massaging at Barry’s neck. Then Hal sighed, his eyes moving down Barry’s neck, his eyes going half-lidded before he whispered, “I know."</p><p>Barry’s grin formed back on his face, it was soft, a bit shy, but genuine. The two pulled into another kiss, feeling like the other was a blissful addiction. After a couple of seconds, they dragged themselves apart, Hal’s lips chasing after Barry’s in an attempt to make the kiss last longer. Giving another peck to Hal, the two pressed their foreheads back together, staying where they were for a minute, staring into the other’s eyes as they enjoyed this moment for themselves. </p><p>“This all started because you couldn’t keep yourself from dying,” Barry muttered into Hal’s skin, making the Lantern close his eyes and silently giggle.</p><p>“Hey,” Hal huffed from his laughter, “At least I know you’ll come to save me if I go running into trouble.” Barry’s eyes went half-lidded, his fingers going to play at Hal’s hair as they smiled fondly at each other. “You know I’d do the same for you.”</p><p>“Do I?” the speedster teased.</p><p>“Of course you do.”</p><p>Barry breathed out a laugh, pull himself away from Hal’s, and laid a kiss to his forehead, “You’re right. I do.”</p><p>And that was all he could ask for and more.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Don't get the soulmate au part? Don't worry, I'll try and explain.<br/>When Barry entered the Yellow Lantern universe, it was also a soulmate universe, which was why he had a red string. To take the string off, he had to touch it against Hal's bow, which he did after Hal had astral projected from his own body and started fighting with the fear that incarnated as himself, the touch transported them into a different dimension, where the red string separated their souls and reattached them into the other person, but because the fear part of Hal's soul refused to combine with the rest of Hal's soul, it had an effect on both of them, where both of their souls couldn't get back into each other's bodies until they overcame the feeling of fear, which was the feeling of being thrown back into a pit. The markings were supposed to show they were connected to each other, but they had to touch each other's markings to have their souls fully connect. Over time, their souls began finding each other and linking together, which was why Barry's marks started growing, and why he could hear fragments of Hal's thoughts whenever his marks shone, but the touch was what mended their souls completely. Of course, since they had no one to tell them all of this, they don't really know what's going on, and don't assume the voices are in their heads are each other until they catch the other's eyes and realize they're mind was linked to the other's the whole time.</p><p>I'm sorry if it's confusing. If I'm being honest, I've confused myself with it all as well, so you have all the right to ask any lingering questions in the comments.<br/>Thank you to everyone who decided to twist their brains while reading this, y'all are wonderful, I can't thank you enough! Big thank you to Weddely, who gave me honest feedback throughout the week. (I'm so sorry you're reading this, it's a mess.) As well as the Halbarry server(as always)for putting up with the mess that is me.<br/>I'll see y'all soon, I wanna write more, so soon, hopefully. ❤</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kudos, comments, and constructive criticism is always welcome!<br/>I hope everyone has a wonderful week!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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